Just Tell Me
by Arctic Husky
Summary: [Sheelos] One night while distanced from the the rest of the group, Colette brings a certain subject matter up to Sheena: What ever happened between her and Zelos? She's in for a long answer... [Note: I am formerly The Zelda Master!]
1. My Knight in Pink and White

Time for another Sheelos story! And this one is going to be multiple chapters, and _pre_-game! _(gasp!)_ Yeah, I know, I'm melodramatic. The opening of this chapter takes place during the journey of regeneration (as you'll easily discover) but it becomes a first-person telling of certain things that happened two years prior. It's pretty much and interpretation of what, perhaps, happened between Sheena and Zelos in the past to make them act the ways that they do. I hope that all of you Sheelos fans out there like it!

Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing. However, I do **pwn** you! (I couldn't resist doing that...)

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter I: My Knight in Pink and White_

The sky was ablaze as the sun gradually lowered itself into an unseen abyss; golden-red rays of light flowed across the plain where a group of eight close companions had set up their camp. The crackling fire in the centre of the human figures seemed almost indistinguishable from the ground during this time of sunset. The four male members of the group were huddled around the fire – the two swordsmen attempting to create a masterpiece meal, while the two actual cooks tried desperately to convince them that their means of cooking were ill-advised. The half-elf healer sat near to the aspiring chefs, her nose buried in a book, although her ears listened to everything that was being said near the fire in hopes of picking up on cooking techniques. Tiredly staring at the swordsmen goofing off, the pink-haired lumberjack was beginning to drift into a slumber with nothing more interesting to do.

Distanced from the rest of the group, the blonde angel and the summoner sat watching. The teenage Chosen was beaming as she saw all of her close friends in such high spirits... except for the one sitting next to her. Her smile faded when she noticed that a scowl was present on the   
Mizuho ninja's face. Tracing the destination of her friend's stare, she could tell exactly who it was that made her seem so upset. "Something happened between you and Zelos, didn't it?" The summoner's entire body seemed to tense up at this question. "...Sheena? What was it? You trust me enough to tell me, right...?"

Exhaling forlornly, Sheena answered, "Of course I do, Colette. It's just... a difficult subject for me to talk about."

"Oh, um... I'm sorry, then," Colette quickly apologized, a humiliated blush present on her cheeks, "I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business to begin with... Sorry." Mentally, she was angry with herself for letting curiosity take over. She should not have tried to pry into another's life.

Sheena simply shook her head in reply, though. "Just because it's hard to talk about, doesn't mean I don't want to," she explained, "It's okay. Truth be told, I've just never... told anyone about it before. I've always wanted to, but..." Colette gave an understanding nod, remaining silent as though to tell Sheena to go on. The ninja forced herself to tear her gaze away from Tethe'alla's Chosen, and to look towards her considerate friend. "It was two years ago when – as you know – I was sent by order of the vice-chief to Meltokio to partake in some experiments at the Elemental Research Laboratory. Apparently, there had been a man-made summon spirit created and they needed a summoner... Mizuho saw it as a way to get back onto the King's good side."

"Is this before you met Zelos?" Colette piped up.

"Yep," Sheena replied, "In fact... I hardly even knew of his existence," she quickly corrected herself, "I mean to say... of _course_ I had heard of the Chosen, but that was it—a title. It really meant nothing in regards to who he was as a person."

Colette thought about what Sheena had said for a moment, and realized it was true. When she had gone on her journey of regeneration, no matter where she travelled to, people knew her by her title; never by her clumsy tendencies, habit of apologizing, or even by the name 'Colette'. She was like a distant world that perhaps many people had heard of, but only few had ever visited and become attached to. "How did you end up meeting him?" Colette asked curiously, "Did he try some pick-up lines?"

That last comment made Sheena snicker. "He wasn't quite as bad then as he is now," she said, "He had more class than that..." By the way that the summoner's voice softened as she spoke of how Zelos used to be, Colette could tell that he had meant a lot to her, and also that she had meant a lot to him. "...He did try to flatter me, though," Sheena suddenly added, which in turn made Colette giggle. "Anyway, I had known that I'd have to spend a few nights in Meltokio, but I really didn't think it necessary to make a reservation in the hotel... That was a misjudgement on my part."

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After the day spent at the Elemental Research Laboratory, I was just about ready to collapse and fall asleep right on the lab's floor. Of course, I wasn't about to let that happen, so I began heading out of the building to go and get a room at the hotel. Just as I was about to step out of the front door, the lab's receptionist called after me, "Oh! Umm... ah..." her words staggered over each other as she searched the corridors of her mind for my name.

"Sheena," I said, saving her from having to think any longer.

She laughed nervously, "Yes. That's right. Well, Sheena... I was wondering if you made a reservation at the hotel already..."

Something in the tone of her voice made me nervous, since I had most certainly _not_ made a reservation. Everyone had told me that Meltokio had one of the largest hotels in Tethe'alla, so I naturally assumed that there would be enough room for me. "No," I replied at last. I did not like the way that the receptionist seemed to give a forced smile, awkwardly kicking at the floor with her toes. "Why? ...Should I have?"

"It... would have been wise," she answered after a moment's hesitation, "It's rather unfortunate, but you've come into town just in time for the annual festival... I mean, it's a beautiful thing to get to see, however the inn is always _completely_ booked at this time." I cursed under my breath, leaning against the doorframe in exasperation. "It couldn't hurt to, you know, go and check at least," the woman tried to reassure me, "There's always a chance that they'll have one, tiny free room... maybe..."

"Yeah," I forced myself to say, "Maybe." I really didn't have any hope, though. I wasn't about to think that it was a possibility when the woman had already said 'always completely booked'. Always is always, and that day would be no exception—I was sure of it. "Thanks for letting me know." I gave a feeble wave goodbye to the receptionist before leaving through the front door. The instant after I closed the door behind me, I groaned, falling lazily against the building. I had no idea what I was going to do if there were no rooms available in the hotel. I wasn't about to bother the scientists in the lab for a place to stay, and I wasn't familiar with _anyone_ else in the city. It seemed like I was destined to a night on the streets, and that was obviously not something to look forward to.

Nevertheless, I trekked over to the Meltokio inn and asked if they had any available rooms. Surprise, surprise, I received a reply of, "I'm really sorry; we have no vacancies at this time."

I think it's pretty evident that I wasn't in the best of moods, so I simply left the hotel without even granting a 'thanks anyway'. Just imagine—I was wandering through Meltokio's streets as the sun was setting, thinking to myself: _hmm, what would be a good place to sleep? The noble quarters are out, and I'd prefer not to stay at the slums..._ Heh. Where else was there for me? The gap between the rich and poor was so great that no one was capable of living in the middle class. I unenthusiastically trudged towards the slums, only to be stopped the moment that I was about to set foot across the distinct barrier where the stone streets became filth. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I feel compelled to warn you that that region of Meltokio is not one that you would enjoy visiting."

As if I didn't know that already... _But_, I wasn't about to say that all-too honest remark out loud. I turned around to face the giver of advice; it was a man—nope, not Zelos, if that's what you were thinking—well-dressed in an almost _too_ orderly suit, his face graced with a neat, brown moustache. With a false sense of merriment, I said, "I know. There's just nowhere else for me to go tonight."

The man gave me an incredulous look, however he did not seem capable of objecting to what I had said. Mind you, at that time I hadn't a clue that this man was actually the _servant_ of a noble, and not one himself. "Very well, ma'am," he stated robotically, "I hope you manage to have a good evening, anyway." And then he just walked off. I thought that his conduct was rather strange, but I forced myself to ignore it.

Wandering deeper in the slums, I couldn't help but feel a little revolted... I know that it's a terrible thing to say considering that by no means do the poor choose that lifestyle. Just imagine it... I mean, I only had to experience it for a little while and it affected me. I curled up into a far corner of the district and _tried_ to get some sleep. Slumber never came, however, because I could not help hearing everything that was going on... I still remember the loud crash of glass that came from a few streets over; the low profile murmurs of two men making some kind of unknown exchange; and then, there were screams between a man and woman. I remember that the most because it just so happened that the feuding couple lived in the building nearest to where I was. The woman's cries were distorted through her sobs, while the man apologized over and over again. Finally, there was a piercing shriek of, "Get out! Get out of here!" followed by those agonized sobs again. Merely overhearing the entire thing made me cringe. I huddled closer into my corner as the building's door creaked open, screeching closed again with an unbearable slam. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I buried my face in them, thinking that maybe I could escape the reality of it all; maybe if I kept my eyes closed, the sounds would fade away, and the sun would come out and bring morning. It didn't, but... something else came. Some_one_.

A tender voice that juxtaposed everything in that hellish neighboured drifted into my ears. "Hey. Hey there, lovely lady. This really isn't a place for someone as fragile as you." I would have accepted flirtatious words over spiteful yelling any day... and so, I opened my eyes and looked upward. That was the first time that saw him, starting with those steel blue eyes whose glow reflected the light of the moon, almost instantly letting the warmth of benevolence take me over. There was just something about him... Next, I noted the warm, red hair that draped over his shoulders. Sticking to the still-existent dress code, he was wearing a salmon-pink button-down shirt—which, mind you, was only buttoned up halfway—and loose, white pants. Everything about him was so radiant within the dull, dreary atmosphere of the slums... The brightness was welcome. He held his hand out to me, a smile on his face, "C'mon. I can offer you a place to stay for the night."

I accepted his hand. It wasn't that I was an irrational person, or that I was being ignorant... I simply would not have been able to handle the night in that area. He seemed sincere, and so I automatically trusted him more than anything in the slums. Like anyone else in the world, I had heard those fairytales of strangers whisking a woman off of her feet—that knight in shining armour that would rescue her from a ghastly scenario. Well, as shameful as it sounds saying it now, I considered the fact that maybe _this_ man was my knight... in... pink and white.

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Heh, heh... as I finished writing this chapter, Chris Jericho was singing "Shelton Benjamin is a Little Bitch" on my TV. Now, even if you don't know the first thing about wrestling, you can tell that that's a weird thing to be hearing while you're writing something like this story. XD Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how the first chapter turned out, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep this fic going well. Please give me some feedback; it's always appreciated!


	2. Why Not?

Well, 'twas a long and stressful week... but it's done and over with, and now I have another chapter done of this story! (Of course I have other things to update, too... Heh, heh.) I shall spare you a long introduction and just get on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own _nothing_ from Tales of Symphonia... unlike those good people from Namco, who do.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter II: Why Not?_

I don't really remember anything else that happened that night. You know those moments where you feel like you're not even there, and yet you know that you are? Those moments that you feel like if you were to speak, no one would hear you? Well... the walk from the slums to my _saviour's_ mansion was one of those moments. The following morning, however, I recall clearly.

When I woke up, I was lost. It did not even take a second for me to realize that I was not in a familiar room. I looked around and everything seemed so... rich. So perfect. There was no sign of dust, being used, or life in anything. I moved the bed covers off of myself and climbed out of the bed. My first concern—as selfish as it may sound—was myself. My memory was utterly blank at the time; all that I knew was that I had just woken up in a stranger's bed. I had felt perfectly fine... In fact, I had felt extremely well rested and full of energy for the day.

I took another look around the room, just taking in its pastel pink walls, wooden furniture and flowery decorations. There was a mirror that hung above the bureau pushed back at one side of the room. I stepped over to it and scrutinized my appearance: exactly as it had been the last time I observed my reflection—by no means perfect, but good enough. Back then my clothes were much brighter colours; nothing quite as bold as pink, but different shades of light blue and mauve. I wore looser and more conservative clothing since I was even less comfortable with my body then, and I always left my hair untied.

I was fine; everything was fine. I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief, yet still I wondered: where was I? Wandering over to the window, I stared out over the city. Meltokio; I had already gathered that I was there... As I scanned the area, one place stood out – perhaps because of its dull complexion in a metropolis of extravagance – and I remembered what had happened. I remembered that I had been in those slums the night before and that a man had come and taken me the hell out of there, to safety. I let myself think that maybe he really was my gallant knight.

Satisfied with the state of things, I made my way out of the room and crept silently down the stairs, almost scared to have myself heard. I felt as though I were in an unknown region, completely oblivious to whether or not there was something that I should be cautious of. Usually when you picture a mansion staircase, you'd imagine the steps creaking as a person walked down them... but hell, in that house everything was quiet—not a floorboard was loose. I counted the steps that I took as I walked. Ten stairs. When I reached the main floor, there was still no one else in sight. I wondered if perhaps my rescuer—and whoever else lived there—was still sleeping; then I began pondering as to what I would do if that were the case. Would I just leave without granting a 'thank you' or 'goodbye'? Or would I stick around? Thankfully I never had to make a final decision because someone was awake... _two_ conversing people, to be precise.

I followed the voices to a room that was attached to the living room. It turned out to be the kitchen, where that familiar redhead sat at a table munching on a piece of toast (the food of nobles, right?). There was someone else in the kitchen, too—someone whom I had laid eyes on the previous day, as well. He was the one who had warned me about the slums. "Good morning," he greeted, noticing me without looking up from the stove where he was slaving away making something.

"Good morning," I returned his greeting, although I was looking at the man at the table and not at him.

Finally, my saviour looked up at me with a smile and casually acknowledged me with a "hey". I smiled back at him, making my way towards the table. He motioned to the seat across from him, and so I accepted the invitation and sat down. "Want something to eat?" I gave a reserved nod in reply. It was weird... he was a stranger, and yet he spoke as though we were already acquainted. "So what's your name?" he finally asked as his butler placed a plate of food down in front of me.

"Sheena Fujibayashi," I answered, "And, umm...?" I wanted to ask who he was, but the air of confidence that he had intimidated me.

Apparently I did not mask my bewilderment very well, because at that moment, he came to the astounding conclusion that I had no clue who on earth he was. Murmuring to himself, he said, "Wow, you don't know who I am..."

The fact that I had overheard that comment made me feel even more intimidated as nervously, I questioned, "...Should I?" Edgily, I glanced from the man at the table to the man by the stove; both of them seemed to be avoiding eye contact with me, avoiding an answer. "_Should_ I?" I repeated.

"Nah," the redhead propped his elbow up onto the table, resting his head in the palm of his hand, "It was pretty arrogant of me to have assumed that everyone knows me by face and not by my title." Title? I was still oblivious... until he stated, "I am the Chosen." I was _truly_ embarrassed at that point and couldn't even bring myself to look him in the eye, so my gaze was cast downward bashfully. "Sheena, it's all right," he insisted, although it didn't help in the least because it reminded me of the fact that _he_ had known _my_ name, while I _still_ did not know his.

Reluctantly, I dared to tilt my head upward to look at him. He didn't seem to mind my ignorance; in fact, he was still smiling that sincere smile. "My deepest apologies, Chosen." When I realized that it was the Chosen that I was speaking to, my composure seemed to have changed completely. But what was one to expect? The Chosen was near the top of Tethe'alla's hierarchy, and to not have recognized him was basically the equivalent of going up to the Pope and asking 'who the _hell_ are you?' I felt so terrible... and yet, he just kept on smiling, and even light-heartedly laughed at me.

"You don't have to say that you're sorry," he assured, "And call me Zelos. Please, _don't_ call me Chosen."

I nodded graciously, although by the way that he had ordered me to call him by name, _he_ should have acted gracious when I agreed. Suddenly I realized that I had not yet thanked him for pulling me out of the slums and into shelter, and so I quickly said, "Oh! Thank you very much for giving me a place to stay."

Zelos casually leaned back in his chair, "You should thank Sebastian," he said, nodding his head in the direction of his butler, "Last night, he told me about a young lady who was without a place to stay. Had he not told me, I never would've known to help out." I turned my head towards Sebastian and repeated my thank you; the servant simply gave an approving nod before returning to his duties. Zelos began making conversation yet again, "I'm taking a guess here, but... you're the Mizuho girl who's working with the half-elves, correct?"

"Yes," I replied coolly, however an instant later it donned upon me that I was supposed to be at the lab. Swiftly, I rose from my seat and looked towards Zelos. "Thank you for bringing the subject up—you reminded me that I have to get going. Again, thanks to both of you for giving me a place to stay." I hurried towards the front door without waiting for either of them to say goodbye; but before I got a chance to go outside, Zelos gripped onto my arm and stopped me.

My first reaction was to be apprehensive, wondering why he was keeping me from leaving; however when I turned around to face him, I was immediately calmed. That genuine smile was on his face. "Do you know how long you're going to be at the lab for?" he inquired. I shook my head. "Well, if you get out early enough, would you like to join me at the festival? I haven't gotten a chance to check it out yet this year and I'd like to have someone to go with."

I could feel my cheeks burning with redness as I looked at him; just the fact that he was so upfront was enough to make me blush. _"A... date with the Chosen?"_ I mused in my mind, _"It could be fun. Plus, I'm curious about the festival anyway..."_ After a silence, I shyly stammered, "S...Sure."

"Great," Zelos beamed, finally releasing my arm from his grasp. "Oh, and I'll try to get a room for you in the hotel," he added, "After all, I have nothing better to do."

That last statement... I found difficult to believe. Nonetheless, I was very grateful for what he was doing for me. "Thank you again. I'll... see you later."

With that, I left the mansion and went to the Elemental Research Lab. The entire day I couldn't help thinking about him—I replayed meeting him the night before, speaking to him that morning, and... That was all that I had to reminisce about, so I began imagining what it would be like to go to the festival with the Chosen. I can't believe how pathetic I was. Like any day when you're waiting for a certain event, time passed in an unnaturally slow pace. I can't even remember what experiments took place that day; I was totally unaware of everything that was going on around me. By the time that I had finally snapped out of my trance, I was free to go.

As I walked out of the front door, the timid receptionist piped up, "Do you have plans, Sheena?"

I looked back at her, smiling, "Yep. I'm going to the festival with the Chosen." Normally I would have simply said 'yes' and moved along, but I felt in such high spirits that I didn't mind telling the receptionist about my plans.

"O...oh," she muttered, "That's... good, I suppose..." I stared at her sceptically as she let her remark trail off. After growing silent, the receptionist jumped up in surprise, "Ah, don't mind me! I'm sure you'll have a good time!"

"Yeah..." I murmured to myself, exiting the building. As I walked down the pathway the led to Meltokio's main roads, I pondered on why she had acted so peculiar when I told her where I was going. I shook my head, shrugging off the doubtful thoughts; I knew that I should just allow myself to have some fun. So... I did. I strolled through Meltokio—from the commercial district to the noble quarters—resisting the urges to check out the festival before meeting up with Zelos. I must admit, it was hard; people were celebrating everywhere.

When I arrived at Zelos' mansion, I hesitated. I could not help but remember the receptionist's tone of voice. She had obvious been lying when she said that her remarks had meant nothing—It can be so simple to tell when a person is lying; it's just a matter of confronting them and convincing them to be truthful. "Just have fun," I whispered to myself, "I promise that I'll have a good time." I lifted my fist and lightly rapped on the door a few times. I waited—no answer. I considered the possibility that this was fate telling me that I should simply leave, then I recalled my promise to myself and knocked again. The echo of my fist against the hard wooden door was much louder this time, and my knuckles were left slightly numbed. My patience was growing thin; unravelling, unravelling... "One more time," I told myself as I reached for the doorbell. Just as I pressed down on the button, the front door was pulled open and I started in surprise.

"Miss Fujibayashi, I apologize for making you wait." It was Sebastian, of course—Goddess forbid that Zelos actually answer the door himself.

I tucked some loose hair behind my ear as a means of regaining composure. "It's okay," I assured, "And... just call me Sheena, please."

"Of course, Miss Sheena." I sighed. Old habits die hard. Mind you, I was not one to judge considering that I was living my life by traditions that had been existing for generations past. "Master Zelos should be here in—"

"Coming!" From within the house there came the thudding of someone bounding down stairs; one, two, three, four, five… He must have jumped two steps per stride. The enthusiasm was appreciated. It made me feel as though I were someone worth spending time with. Zelos stepped in front of his butler and granted me a radiant grin. "Sorry for the delay. I wasn't expecting you so early." I could only bring myself to nod; I still hadn't quite brought myself up to the level of comfort that he had reached.

Sebastian cleared his throat to get Zelos' attention. The second that his presence was acknowledged, the servant asked, "Is there anything that you need me to do in your absence, Master Zelos?"

Tethe'alla's one and only Chosen casually replied, "Same as always: scrap any messages from the church, get any other messages to me, and keep the fangirls in check."

"Fangirls?" I found myself blurting out.

"Hopefully you'll never find out," Zelos remarked, letting a small snicker escape his throat at the end of the statement. I decided that I didn't want to know. "Shall we get going?" inquired Zelos.

I gave a small smile that almost felt forced, even though I really _was_ happy. "Yeah. Let's go." In my mind, the response was more like: _I've been waiting for this all day._

Zelos and I walked through the noble district, en route to Meltokio's main plaza. Reflecting on it now... it was strange. There we were, basically on a date, but we didn't know anything about each other aside from him being Zelos Wilder, and I Sheena Fujibayashi—he was the Chosen of Tethe'alla, while I was the summoner from Mizuho. Totally different upbringings, that much was certain. As we walked, I would discreetly glance in his direction. He seemed to be staring forward—eyes void—and yet whenever we so much as passed by another human, he would instinctively smile. The second that they were no longer looking at him, he would become detached again. I've always found it interesting that people can appear completely different when they think that no one is looking; say different things when they think that no one is listening. I could tell right then that Zelos was not one to _really_ be concerned about these strangers, and that only made me wonder more... Why was he being kind to me?

During one of my sneak-glances at Zelos, he turned to face me. On reflex, I looked away shyly. "So Sheena," he spoke at last, "Tell me something about yourself."

It was almost as though I had suddenly come down with a case of amnesia. I searched my mind for something to say, but all that I could bring myself to say was "...Myself?" as I cautiously let my gaze return to Zelos. I knew that I sounded like an utter ditz.

"Yes," Zelos responded, his voice holding a blatantly teasing tone of sarcasm. It made me blush.

I gave an uneasy laugh as I held my hand over my reddened face. "Right..." I chuckled uncomfortably, "Well, um... As you know, I'm from Mizuho and..." My voice evaporated into nothingness the instant that I let the final 'd' roll off of my tongue. What was I going to say? Chosen or no Chosen, he was a stranger, an unknown, and an outsider to Mizuho. I _couldn't_ tell him about my lifestyle, and I _wouldn't_ tell him about my past. I also wasn't about to recite some inconsequential, personal-ad-like description of myself: _single Mizuhoan woman, 17, seeking fun-loving, renowned noble man whom she finds absolutely irresistible._ How pathetic would that have been?

I guess I must have been in silent thought for a while because Zelos spontaneously murmured, "I know what you mean." I could only stare at him perplexedly, asking myself what _he_ meant by that statement.

That was when our moment together was interrupted. Sometime during our conversation (if you could call it one), we had reached the plaza where the festival was being all-out celebrated. Through the crowded area there came unsynchronized cries of "Yoohoo! Zelos!" and "Chosen, you've come!" I backed off then and there, clearing a pathway for a gang of four of Zelos' admirers to enter through. It was the group of his... _devout_ followers—i.e. top groupies. All of them were exactly the same: shrill voices, unnecessarily puffy dresses, fake wings attached to their backs... The only differences were the ways that they coordinated their colours and hairstyles. Mentally, I gave them each fairly spiteful nicknames: Blondie, Purple Girl, Prissy and Glam... not that I ever dared to utter these names aloud.

Zelos greeted them with one of his phoney grins. "Hello, ladies! Are you all enjoying the festivities?" Their replies were all merged together and I don't think that even Zelos could decipher them; it was, however, obvious that the girls were rather pleased. "Glad to hear it!" Zelos exclaimed. I backed away even more. "I'd love to stick around and chat, but..." Zelos began, although he was immediately cut off with their requests.

"Zelos, do you want to go and wander around?"

"There are some performers up near the castle. Wanna check them out?"

Even as he was offered to spend time with those beautiful, _plastic_ girls... he stuck with me. "I'm sorry. I already promised today to someone." Zelos stole a glance in my direction, giving a quick wink. I couldn't help blushing again. That outgoing attitude that he was showing seemed to make him more alluring in my eyes... He was something that I never had the courage to be. And he was seemingly genuine, too.

It was unfortunate for me, though, that Zelos' groupies followed his gaze to me. Hatred was instantly brewing, and they had no problems letting it boil over. "Who? _Her_? Who _is_ she?" Blondie asked completely upfront, "And... _why_?"

Zelos walked over to me and linked his arm through mine. "Why not?" To this day, I'm not sure how I should have taken that remark. Was it a 'why not?' as in, she's perfectly up to my standards, if not above them? Or was it a 'why not?' as in, she looks like a girl that I can totally take advantage of, no problems? Either way, I let him pull me away from his groupies and deeper into the festival's crowd. I had promised myself that I would allow myself to have some fun, and I was never one to break a promise.

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Done, done! Now it's just a matter of where I want it to go from here... (I've got the end in mind; it's just those damn middle chapters that mess me up! XD) Anyway, please review and I'll do my best to update soon. And speaking of reviews, here are my responses to the last ones:

To MoonCannon – Yes, I know that the first chapter was short. I just didn't want to stuff too much information into the first chapter, but it'll be getting longer as I go along, I promise. _(smile)_

To A. NuEvil – Yeah... I wish that _I_ had a knight in pink and white... or black and red. Yeah, those are definitely better colours. XD

To Rose-Wisteria – Your reviews always make me feel so good about my work, and I thank you very much for that. And don't worry, there will certainly be some humour inserted into this fic; just light-hearted stuff, really. I look forward to you updating your stories and posting some more work. It's been too long since you've posted anything!

To AngelCatGirl – Thanks very much for your praise. _(dreamy sigh)_ I could totally go for a knight in shining armour...

To Black Winged Huntress – Oh yeah. Zelos is a sweetie... er... _was_ a sweetie. The years must've done something to him, eh? XD

To FairyV – Oh, no worries of my head getting too big! I'm not one to be arrogant... mind you, I'm not one to be totally modest, either. :P I'm glad that you enjoyed the first chapter.

To SmileBeHappy – o.0 Then, umm... uh... Just... let all of your joyful tears out? _(is happy that you're happy about the multi-chapter pre-game Sheelos story, but is also frightened... in the best possible way, of course)_

To Adriatic – Tsk, tsk, don't have a sick mind! Zelos isn't going to be a bad boy! ...Or _will_ he? (dun, dun, duuun!) There should be some humour here-and-there in this story; nothing too prominent, but hopefully you'll snigger a little.

To kuramagirl44 – Tsk, tsk, to you too! _(also just 'tsk tsk'ed Adriatic)_ All of you people assuming that Zelos had something bad in mind... Heh, heh. And it's cool to hear that even you're non-ToS-playing friends enjoy _Holidays of Symphonia_. That's pretty cool. (By the way, I'm working on finishing the very late Mother's Day chapter. XD)

To Sir-dik-dik follower of Beef – (I won't ask about the 'follower of Beef' you added to your penname) Good to hear that you managed to get kinda into Tales of Symphonia. (See? It's fun!) I haven't tried Resident Evil 4, though. I don't think it's really my genre of game... And ack, don't go killing mutated kittens! I'm writing more, I'm writing more! (And eventually, hopefully sometime early in the summer, I'll get the next Warrior Island chapter up. I've been very un-inspired for that one... But it'll come back!)


	3. The Truth Behind Rumours

I'm glad to see that so many people are getting into this story. I myself am rather proud of how it's coming along. _(smile)_ Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer; here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything from Tales of Symphonia. Got it? Good.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter III: The Truth Behind Rumours_

By the time that Zelos and I had absorbed all of the festival air that we could, the sky had darkened and the streets were illuminated by a kaleidoscope of coloured lights. Many people were still outside celebrating; they flaunted their decorative wings in the artificial light, partook in careless conversations and enjoyed the live music that was playing. As mystical as the atmosphere was, I had seen enough of it—exhaustion had set in. Like a true gentleman, Zelos walked me back to my home—the hotel. I couldn't have been more thankful that he had succeeded in getting me a room. If he hadn't, my hard-headedness would have made me reject an offer of staying in his mansion again and I would have wound up sleeping on the streets—something that I had discovered was even more horrible than one could imagine.

We stood outside of the front of the inn for a little while. The front door had been left open and the stuffy air from inside flowed out, warming anything that it touched. The weather had cooled down the moment that the sun vanished from the sky and the moon took its place. Our parting was rather awkward; neither of us really knew what was an appropriate goodbye. A 'see you later', an 'I had a good time', or something else along those lines... or not? I had no clue.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Zelos asked at last. I gave a small nod while keeping my eyes focussed on him. The coloured lights shining down from either side of us lit up Zelos' face; the left side glowing a pale blue, while the right side was a deep, almost red, pink. Oddly enough, the strange colour combination added to his charm. "Listen..." Zelos scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his half-closed eyes easily giving away his hesitation, "...Could us seeing each other again happen?" His voice was so distant that he seemed to be musing to himself rather than speaking to me.

I answered anyway. "I don't see why not. It's..." I gave a reserved smile, "...something that I'd like a lot."

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"Did you two kiss?"

Sheena started in shock. Colette had remained silent for so long that the summoner had begun to think that she was reminiscing within her own mind with no one listening. She exhaled, the slightest vexation present in her sigh.

"Sheena?" Colette spoke again, directing Sheena back towards her question.

She shook her head. "No. No we didn't. Not... then." Sheena shifted to get into a more comfortable sitting position. _"I have to remember that Colette's listening,"_ she reminded herself, _"There are some things even she shouldn't know... I have to censor myself."_ She glanced back towards Colette; Sylvarant's Chosen was letting her eyes wander around to anything but Sheena, unsuccessfully masking how ill at ease she was about Sheena's entrancement. The ninja gave a comforting smile, "Hey. Colette, you still listening?" she asked good-naturedly, waving a hand in front of her friend.

Colette focussed her gaze back onto Sheena, "Y-Yes!" she stammered, "Keep going. I won't ask any more questions like that. Sorry."

"Don't be," Sheena laughed lightly, "If you want to know something, just ask. I won't mind answering." Colette gave an understanding nod and remained silent, waiting for Sheena to continue the story. The summoner quickly glimpsed in the direction of the campfire. It seemed that _almost_ everyone had fallen asleep; only the redheaded man was awake, staring at the fire in such deep contemplation that Sheena could only assume that he did not even realize that she and Colette were also up. Still, she lowered her voice as she spoke, "We parted ways after that... but only for that night. As vowed, we saw each other again. And again and again... and a lot. I was finally getting to know who the Chosen really was... or at least who I thought that he was back then. He was fun-loving, outspoken, outgoing, and rather enticing. It didn't take long for rumours to spread about Zelos and I, even though nothing had really happened between us. We were friends, companions—that was all..."

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I had been completely _oblivious_ to the fact that these rumours were going around. I figured that Zelos' groupies were probably coming up with some ridiculous assumptions, but to have had the words flowing through the city the way that they were was just... ridiculous. All of the people in the city had their own lives, problems, interests, and yet for _some_ reason they all chose to talk about what they _imagined_ was going on with other people. Someone else's life, someone else's problems, someone else's interests. Guess they just can't get enough of a kick out of their own.

One day as I was walking out of the Elemental Research Lab, the receptionist stopped me again. Every time that that woman called my name as I stepped outside, my heart tightened. She always seemed to leave me feeling dubious, never optimistic. "Sheena," she spoke; on the plus side, she seemed to be gaining more confidence as she became my bringer of bad news.

I turned around. "What is it, Flora?" After several conversations that took place under good terms, both of us had begun constantly referring to each other by name instead of 'you'.

"I was just wondering..." Flora rested against her desk, her back facing me just so that she could avoid eye contact, "You and the Chosen. Is it serious?"

"Is _what_ serious?" I retorted, narrowing my eyes into a glare.

Flora's body visibly tensed up, "Ah, erm... Your... relationship...?" The way that her voice seemed to squeak as she spoke told me that she was internally wondering if there actually was a relationship.

I shut the front door and meandered over to the back of the desk, looking at Flora face-to-face. "What _kind_ of relationship?" I practically demanded. The receptionist held her hand up to her mouth, nervously biting on her short, unpainted fingernails. She did not attempt to turn her stare away from me, however she also chose not to say a word. I took the liberty of clearing things up myself, "If you mean to say that we're involved in something romantic, that's not at all true. There isn't even a 'relationship' to be serious about."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Flora quickly murmured, her voice drowning in regret, "I've just heard a lot of things lately. Gossip, I guess. It was wrong of me to have assumed that the things people have been saying are facts."

I'd unconsciously begun tapping my foot against the floor, letting everything that I was being told process in my mind. "What's been said?" I finally let my curiosity take over. I wanted to know what it was that the people in the city were thinking.

"Well..." Flora hesitated for a moment, although she knew that she would be compelled to answer eventually, "People say that the two of you have been spending basically every night at the festival together..." That was true. "...And that you've been holding hands and speaking to each other without restrictions." That was false. "Also, the innkeeper supposedly spread word that the Chosen has a key to your hotel room and has used it to visit you during the night on several occasions."

I could not resist rolling my eyes with a mocking chortle. _Why_, I wondered, _do people insist on deciding how other people are living?_ "They're lies, you know," I clarified; though I hoped that Flora had figured that out already. Judging by how hurriedly she nodded after my statement, I'd say that she understood. "I'm glad you brought this up," I broke the silence again, "It's always nice to know what's going on in your own life." I made no effort to veil the sarcasm in my voice. It was just so absurd. All of it. "Anyway, I'm going to get going. I'll see you again tomorrow, Flora."

I left the laboratory, questioning what it was that I should do about these rumours. I couldn't go up to every one of Meltokio's residents and say, 'Hey. All of that stuff you heard about Zelos and I? No truth to it!' There was really only one person I could speak to about these lies, and that was Zelos himself. I went to the noble quarters, weaving past every person that came by while knowing that they were probably thinking about how Zelos and I were an item. I bounded up the several stairs leading to Zelos' front door, and then pounded on its wooden surface. As per usual, Sebastian answered the door and then went to get the almighty Chosen.

"Hey there, Sheena!" he greeted after taking his sweet time to come downstairs.

"Do you know what people are saying about us?" I inquired instantly—no 'hello', no 'good to see you'.

Zelos blinked at first, not quiet grasping what I was asking about. Then suddenly, it hit him, "Oh! You mean the stuff about us being a couple? Don't let it get to you." I could only gape. Why was he referring to it so apathetically? "The rumours will die down eventually," he explained, "That, or they'll become a truth."

"A _truth_?" I snapped back, and then suddenly I silenced completely. A truth, he said? A truth to us being a couple? For a few seconds, I became detached from reality as I daydreamed about what it would be like to actually be involved with the Chosen of Tethe'alla. My walls of fantasy suddenly shattered when I heard Zelos laughing at me. "Hey, cut it out!" I ordered, "This is serious. Don't joke about it becoming a truth!"

He continued to chuckle—more discreetly at this point—and remarked under his breath, "Yeah. Joke." I huffed in response. "I'll tell you what... Why don't we leave the city for the rest of the day? Just to get your mind off of all of this. You'll realize that their words don't mean anything." I was about to give a nod in defeat, but then Zelos decided to add another comment: "It's not like you had a reputation to lose in the first place."

"Oh, shut up," I playfully nudged him in the arm. "But... that doesn't seem like a bad idea," I was sure to add. Actually, I thought that it was a great idea. I had been locked up in Meltokio for weeks now and even though I had come to enjoy it, a short escape was welcome.

With our decision to temporarily flee all of the commotion in Meltokio, Zelos and I strolled down to the water body that separated his continent from mine. Problem was, we hadn't chosen the greatest day in the world; it was the afternoon and the sun was at its high point, beating down on us as it would in the middle of the desert. It literally felt as though the skin on my face was on fire, it burned so much. I was starting to regret my choice of conservative clothing as sweat plastered my clothes to my skin.

The fairly short walk to the water seemed to take forever. When we had finally made our way down to one of the docks and sat down at its ledge, Zelos made the remark that we were both thinking: "I can't stand this heat any longer!" I nodded my head absent-mindedly as I fanned myself with my hand. Fans hardly seem to work when all you're doing is wafting hot air in your face. Zelos stared intensely at the slightly murky water, "I wanna jump in..."

At the time, I just laughed at him. I hadn't expected him to actually do it, but... Well, when he began to take off his shirt, I thought he was insane. "Zelos, you're not seriously going to--" My statement was cut short when he dove into the water, the liquid splashing up at me. "Oh Jizou, you've lost your mind; that water's freezing! And pretty contaminated, too!"

Zelos' head reappeared above the water's surface, and he instinctively straightened out his tousled hair. "I'd rather freeze than melt under the sun," he said calmly, "Besides, I burn easy."

I couldn't help but let a playful smirk appear on my face as I lied down on my stomach, suspending my arms over the edge of the dock so that my hands could feel the water's coolness. "And taking off your shirt is going to make that better... _how_?" I teased.

He pulled himself out of the water and sat down next to me. "Oh, don't deny that you like it, Sheena," he taunted right back as he wrung the water out of his hair. I did like it, and I did _try_ to deny it. While he toyed with his hair to the point of perfection, I watched him. I never would have imagined that he'd have such a nice physique... I mean, I had figured that by wearing brightly coloured clothes he was compensating something, however he really did have an appearance that most girls would swoon over. I was not about to faint in his presence or anything, although I still stared and he noticed. "Like what you see?" Zelos asked mischievously.

"No!" I retorted on instinct, sitting upright.

He chuckled as he shook his head so that the loose water came out of his hair. "Hey, can I get to judge how you look when you're wet, too?" he inquired hopefully, to which I again objected with a 'no'. "Aw, c'mon..." Zelos swiftly moved forward and gripped onto both of my forearms to prevent me from knocking him away. Technically, I could have still done so using my feet, but I didn't; something told me that he was not actually going to push me into the water. If that had been his plan, then he would have already done it. He was only holding onto me and staring at me the same way that I had been staring at him a minute before that. He suddenly moved closer to me and touched his lips to mine, and then pulled away quickly.

My eyes were wide in disbelief; they were also shining in wonder. "Y... You..." I stammered, bringing my hand up to my mouth to finish conveying my message: he had kissed me. The light pressure that he had left was still pulsating in my lips.

"Kissed you?" Zelos finished my sentence, "Well observed." In that moment, I found it almost unbelievable. Just like that I had had my first... romantic encounter. It was hardly anything, and yet I couldn't help but feel like it was a big deal. Zelos easily noticed how stunned that I was, and so he commented, "What? Is this your first kiss or something?" I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was joking; that he thought that it could not have _possibly_ been my first kiss. He soon realized—with help granted by the way that my entire body seemed to glow red, and not from the sun's heat—that what he had said was no taunt. It was a reality. There was a smile present on Zelos' face, "Oh my... You're the most innocent person that I've ever met."

"Sh...shut up!" I snapped, looking away from him shyly, "I... How old were _you_ when you first kissed a girl?"

Zelos shut his eyes, humming quietly as he contemplated. "On the lips? Ten or eleven, I think..." he answered. I blushed even more. "But don't feel bad about it," Zelos hurriedly added, "With the way things are in Meltokio's society now, it's nice to meet someone who has more decency than a twelve-year-old." His honesty was not at all helping, and so I pulled my knees to my chest and let my head sink down into them. I couldn't see him, but I heard Zelos shifting closer to me. The chill of his fingers brushing against my chin forced me to look upwards, into his eyes. I almost wanted to hate him for grinning at me in such... amusement. Any feelings of loathing that I had had faded in an instant as again, he kissed me. That time I was not shocked. I kissed him right back; albeit, very awkwardly. After all, it was a new experience, and since he was the experienced one, Zelos guided me... which is rather humiliating to admit, actually. Still, it was enjoyable. When our lips finally parted, Zelos just stared at me. I stared back self-consciously.

"What?" I asked plainly.

"Oh, I was just noting how good a kisser you are," Zelos replied slyly. I knew that I was blushing again, if I can even say that I had ever stopped. "And to think that you've never done this before..."

I turned my head away, playfully saying, "Be quiet, Zelos!" In truth, I appreciated his comments.

And that settled it... there weren't rumours anymore. There were facts. Although there was one major setback with the existence of these facts: who I was, where I was from. I didn't live in Meltokio where all of this gossip existed. I lived in Mizuho, the most traditional area in all of Tethe'alla. Outsiders like Zelos were not accepted; disgraces like me did not belong as it was.

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Another chapter done—booya! And the romance has already started. Now, you must keep in mind that Sheena is telling this story to Colette, and so she's not going to go into detail about the friendship that developed before the romance. Colette doesn't care about that. XD I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I have exams all of this month so it might be tough. (Plus, I'm not sure where I want this story to go in the next chapter...) Here, as always, are the responses to reviews:

To MoonCannon – Yes, sir; I shall obey! Heh... I always admire how you review pretty much every fic, whether you agree with the concept/pairing or not.

To sylenis – Thank you very much. Nice to know that I write so well that it hurts. o.0 Wait... is that a good thing?

To Adriatic – Yes, Zelos is kind—it's the **apocalypse**! Ahem... As always, your reviews are much appreciated. And I shall definitely consider writing a Kratos fic for you. I just need inspiration. (Actually, I started a one-shot for ya... but I'm already at a writer's block. XD)

To FairyV – Sheena's loneliness is yet to come; but it's there. It's pretty much just vanished for the time that she's in Meltokio because Mizuho's not on her mind; however as you probably tell, Mizuho's going to be coming into the picture soon.

To KyraValo – Thank you muchly for your comments! The praise is very enjoyable to read.

To Sir-dik-dik-follower of Beef – Well, with both you and my best friend trying to get me to try RE4, I guess it's only a matter of time until I'm forced to play it. XD And I'll get the Mother's Day chapter up, I swear! It's just... over a month late... it's about ¾ of the way done!

To Black Winged Huntress – Thank you (for the review), thank you (for favouriting this). Can't promise that Zelos will stay sweet, though. _(wink)_

To kuramagirl44 – Pft! _That's_ Mithos-style crazy? Work on your maniacal laugh! More like this: Mwehahaha... hoohahahah! HAHAHAHAHAHA! _(cough, cough)_ Don't mind me. I'm crazy.

To Bids(at)Ebay – Woohoo! Three cheers for me! (Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip **hooray**!) Wow... I just gave cheers to myself... I'm pathetic. Heh, heh. Thanks for the review.


	4. The Pact

Finally, **finally** I am updating this fic! I am infinitely sorry that it took so long, but I had a sudden and lasting lack-of-inspiration. I got it back, however, thanks to two things: 1) leafing through the ToS manga that my best friend got me in Japan (thank you:D) And 2) reading Winged Dancer's lovely collection of Sheelos one-shots, _Seeds_.

So here it is... The return of _Just Tell Me_! I have a goal to finish this story, and I shall complete it!

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since my last update; I still do not own Tales of Symphonia or anything/anyone in it.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter IV: The Pact_

Neither Zelos nor I had any intentions of letting the public know that their suspicions had become true, so we made efforts to keep our relationship a secret to everyone except for Sebastian. Since Zelos was the Chosen, any confirmation of a romance would be spread around the world as it would for one of the famous actors at Altamira's theatre. I, for one, did not desire to have my name be known by everyone in Tethe'alla, especially for such reasons. I was still merely the girl taking part in some studies at the Elemental Lab... and I just so happened to be seeing the Chosen under more-than-friendly circumstances. If anything, I only wanted to be known as the study subject.

At that time, I still had not created a pact with Corrine. Certain details of his DNA were being worked out so that the pact would work out as planned. The day that the scientists told me that the pact would finally be made was exciting; but it was unnerving at the same time. What if this summon spirit—although man-made—turned out like Volt? What if it had a mind of its own and refused the pact, instead choosing to tear the city apart? Of course, I'd never even laid eyes on Corrine at that time. The second that I saw him, a good deal of my fear evaporated into the air.

I remember walking up to the glass cage that held him. The entire image before me was surreal: the cuddly, three-tailed creature was floating unconscious within a tank of jade liquid. Bubbles periodically streamed out of Corrine's mouth, telling me that this was indeed a living and breathing being.

"So you know what to do, Sheena?" one of the scientists asked me. I gave him a nod without letting my gaze waver—I was just watching Corrine. There was a mixture of beeps, cranks and mumbles as the scientists prepared to free Corrine from his prison. The liquid flowed out through a disguised pipe and the glass was lifted. Corrine was finally able to move, and yet he did not budge. Even though he did not speak, I could tell that he had no clue what to do with himself. I stole a quick glance towards the scientists, each of them practically quivering from suppressing joyful outbursts.

Now I knew that it was my time to take over. I braved the room's stillness and took a step forward, immediately directing all attention towards myself. "Corrine," I also broke the silence. The miniature summon spirit snapped his head upwards to face me. "Ah, uhm..." I reached into the small bag attached to my waist and pulled out a blank spell card, "I ask of thee to grant me thy power, by means of a pact."

Corrine's stare was completely blank, "A... pact?"

I could breathe another sigh of relief knowing that I could understand what he was saying—unlike Volt. I brought myself down to my knees so that I could look at Corrine eye-to-eye. "Yes. A pact. It's... a promise. I will promise you something in exchange for you promising to stick by me." It was the best explanation that I could come up with. Still, Corrine was left with questions.

"What will you promise me?"

"I..." there was nothing that I could think of at that time. I knew that despite the blank that I was drawing, I had to find something to say. Little did I know that the words I threw together would come to mean so much to both Corrine and I. "I vow that as long as you remain by my side, I too will be there by yours during difficult times."

Corrine took a couple of steps forward and then sat down. "So... I guess that I should say that I accept, right?" Unsure of the response myself, I could only nod. "Okay. Then I accept."

I gave the small spirit a smile and held out my spell card. It began to glow with an amber radiance, as did Corrine. He became transparent, evanescing before my eyes. Soon, he vanished completely into the card—I had made my first pact.

The scientists held us hostage for some time after that, taking notes on all of the spirit's capabilities when linked to a summoner. Corrine had already come to hate those experiments. Before leaving, I was warned not to summon Corrine in the public so that the discoveries remained on the quiet side. Many people would certainly object to the creation of a summon spirit, calling it "playing God". Despite Mizuho's conservative ways, we welcome scientific advancements in hopes of them ameliorating our world's state. The experiments that Meltokio's half-elves conduct are always accepted and encouraged by our culture.

When we were liberated from the lab, night had already set in. The second that the festival's evening lights blazed in my view, I realized that I had not yet spoken to Zelos that day. _"It's just one day,"_ I immediately reassured myself, _"It won't hurt either of us. We haven't become _that_ attached. He knows that I'm fine."_ Unconsciously, I walked straight past the hotel and only took notice of it when I was standing in front of the stairs leading to the northern regions of Meltokio. I glanced back to the hotel, and then up towards the top of the staircase. _"Oh, why not?"_ I thought, _"I wanted to show him Corrine anyway."_ My decision had been made: I would go and see Zelos, despite the time. He'd certainly still be awake.

I strolled over to Zelos' mansion as I did every day; knocked on the door, waited for Sebastian to open it, and then entered. "Master Zelos will be down in a moment, Miss Sheena. Can I help you with anything in the meantime?"

Shaking my head, I casually waved off the butler, "No thank you, Sebastian. I won't be staying long, anyway." He gave a polite bow of understanding, and then wandered off to do whatever he did when he had no orders (which was most likely sitting around and waiting for a command). I, on the other hand, went into the living room and sat down on one of the sofas. I rummaged through my bag for a summoning card, but instead found myself frozen in memories when I accidentally pulled out one of my guardian cards. "Grandpa..." I whispered faintly.

"Hey, sorry for making you wait! I wasn't expecting you to visit at all today." Zelos flopped down onto the seat next to me, making me jump as my mind returned to the room. "I kinda fell asleep."

"O-oh," I smiled weakly, shoving the card back into my deck, "Then I guess I should apologize for waking you up."

Zelos shook his head, "Nah. You're way more interesting than sleep." My phoney smile became a genuine one as I shifted closer to Zelos. He draped his arm over my shoulders, "So did you just come here to say 'hi', or what?"

"Oh!" I fumbled through my bag once again, searching for that summoning card. "I actually have a reason to be here," I said while still searching. "Found it!" I proclaimed triumphantly while holding up a golden-shaded card. Zelos' head was tilted slightly as he stared at me; utter confusion was present on his face. "Ahem..." I cleared my throat, "I made a pact today."

His confusion suddenly transformed into wonder; shimmering eyes and an unwavering smile. "Really? That's awesome!"

I didn't even try to hide my enthusiasm—grinning and nodding my head zealously. "It really is!" I waved the card in my hand around slightly, "Wanna see the summon spirit?"

Zelos began to nod his head, but then froze suddenly. "Uhm..." he began uncertainly, "It's not going to destroy my house or anything, right?"

"Don't even worry about that!" I responded, having to suppress my laughter, "Once you see Corrine, you'll realize what a weird image that is." Now that I'm considering it, that moment was a miracle... He had asked if it was going to destroy his house or _anything_. A summon spirit. The "Volt incident" never even crossed my mind for a second. I held the card above my head and focussed on transferring my energy into it. Soon, I could feel the card quivering in anticipation, and I knew that I had gotten through to Corrine. "Um..." I had to take a moment to stop and think; this was my first time summoning, and I wasn't particularly sure of how to bring the spirit out. I considered the possibility that since the spirit was listening, all I had to do was ask it to join us, "...Come on out, Corrine!"

It worked. The card glowed with the same amber light that it had in the lab, and in an instant, Corrine was standing on the ground at my feet. "What is it, Sheena?" the animal inquired.

"Whoa, _that's_ a summon spirit?" Zelos exclaimed, "I always pictured them as some gargantuan beasts!"

Corrine glanced quickly in Zelos' direction, and just as swiftly returned his stare to me. "Who is that freak?" Zelos looked from Corrine to me, wearing his classic distraught expression.

I snickered. "Watch what you say, Corrine. He's more important than you realize."

"Why? Is he your boyfriend?"

My immediate response was, "What!", which only caused Zelos to take on Corrine's confusion. "No, no. I mean... he is, I guess, but... I wasn't referring to him in that manner, anyway!" Zelos sank deeper into the couch, at ease with the fact that I recognized our relationship. Corrine was still very perplexed. "See, in Tethe'alla, there is someone born with the title of the 'Chosen', who is said to be the saviour of this world. I don't know the details of how the Chosen saves this world—not many people do; all I know is that the Chosen is this guy right here." I lightly poked Zelos' shoulder to indicate the Chosen's identity. "Everyone knows and respects him, and _that's_ why he's important... to society."

"Oh, okay!" Corrine exclaimed enthusiastically.

I noticed that Zelos had lowered his head sometime during my explanation. "Uh... Did I say something wrong?" I asked unsurely.

Zelos took a few seconds to realize that he was the one that my question was addressing. When he finally figured it out, he looked up. Our eyes locked for a moment, but Zelos turned away almost sheepishly. "Nah. But, it's not like I'm another race, y'know? I'm just another person when it comes down to it."

I leaned down to Corrine's level and whispered rather audibly, "That's his rarely shown modest side coming out." Zelos sighed with agitation, but I dismissed the action. Out of nowhere, the hour of the night came to my attention as I glanced out the window. I immediately got to my feet, which caused Zelos to look at me strangely. "It's late," I said. Those were the only words necessary to let him know that I was planning to leave.

"Why not just stay here tonight?" he inquired. The question itself made my stomach twist with anxiousness. Something about being invited to stay overnight at a man's house brings certain thoughts to mind. "That is to say, there are plenty of spare rooms in this mansion."

Spare rooms. Different rooms. In that case... "Y-yeah, I'll stay," I managed to speak through the wavering of my voice.

Zelos smiled sincerely and then yawned, holding his hand over his mouth. "I guess it's already late, hmm?" I nodded tiredly; after acknowledging the darkness of the sky outside, I suddenly felt overcome with drowsiness. "I'll show you to your room, then," he stated as he rose from the couch and then held his hand out to help me up. I gripped his hand and he pulled me up with ease; without putting any effort into getting up at all, I ended up standing inches from Zelos with our fingers entwined.

Before I was given a chance to react to our position, Corrine blurted out, "Where do I stay?"

I blinked and took a step back from Zelos, "Uhm... I guess you stay in the card," I responded. Corrine pouted audibly, but I merely smiled and picked up the empty summoning card on the sofa. I held it down near Corrine and naturally allowed his essence to flow into the card. "Goodnight, Corrine," I whispered as his figure disappeared once again. I faced Zelos again.

"Do we get to say 'goodnight' now?" Zelos questioned, moving closer to me. Even back then, I knew that to Zelos 'saying goodnight' was 'giving a kiss goodnight'... when it came to me, anyway. At that time, I eagerly agreed to his suggestion. We leaned closer to each other and pressed our lips together briefly. With that done, we walked up the mansion staircase and Zelos showed me to my room. "Goodnight," he said to me as we stood outside of the guest room door.

"Goodnight," I said back to him. And as a reaction to some internal longing, I kissed his cheek before retreating into the bedroom that I had been granted.

When the door closed and I was in the room alone, I walked up to the window and stared outside. Now that I had no fears of having to get back to the hotel, I could relax and enjoy the view. The highest floor of Zelos' mansion was the ideal place to look out over the city of Meltokio, especially at nighttime during the festival. I felt as though I was overlooking a swarm of fireflies; many small lights constantly shifting ever so slightly... the many coloured lanterns really made it a sight to see. But I was tired, and the bed in the room was even more inviting than the view. I pulled aside the covers and climbed into the bed and set myself in comfortably.

That was when it hit me. I was so comfortable there, in Meltokio. Many people in the city were surprisingly warm and welcoming to me, the scientists were also warm and welcoming, this bed was warm and welcoming, and above all Zelos was warm and welcoming. In that moment, I felt as though I could stay in Meltokio forever.

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_(yawns)_ Goodnight, readers. I am actually pretty darn exhausted right now, and am not just going along with the ending of this chapter. XD Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me, even though this update took so long! I'll definitely put an effort into the next one being up sooner. Since it's been so long since I've updated, I won't bother to respond to individual reviews; but I thank you all for reading! Like I said, next chapter will hopefully be up fairly soon.


	5. Fireworks

Again, it took me quite a while to get inspired again, but I did it! I'm writing and am kinda seeing where I am going in this story! I may not get there soon... but I'll get there! And, uh... something will happen! I really appreciate that there are some people who are still following this fic and anxiously await an update. Well, here's the update, and it's dedicated to all of you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or anything related to it. Except for this story. But I'm not earning money for writing this, anyway.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter V: Fireworks_

"Zelos didn't try anything 'funny' during the night to change your mind, did he, Sheena?" Colette asked, having recently learned from Raine that Zelos had a tendency trying 'funny' things when a girl was not expecting it. She thought that perhaps that was what had caused the ongoing awkwardness between Sheena and Zelos.

Sheena let out a single, loud laugh. "Ha! If only it were that simple!" she remarked loudly, but almost instantly regretted it as she lowered her voice, "I, uh, mean... If that had been the case, then I could have just walloped him and it would have been done and over with. What happened... went deeper than that. It hurt me right down to the last blood cell in my heart."

"Oh," Colette murmured, slowly letting her eyes look towards the ground, "Then... Was he that bad a person? He seems so nice now, and even with how you are describing the way that he had used to act..."

"You just said it, Colette," Sheena practically hissed her next word, "_Act_..."

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Despite what was bound to happen, I carried on in utter bliss. When I awoke the next morning, there was absolutely no uneasiness about it. I had become comfortable with the place that I was; the house that I was in and the people that I was with. Zelos and Sebastian were a likeable family to have. Sebastian really felt like more of a friend or brother than a butler—when I could look past the fact that he called me 'Miss Sheena', that is.

That day, I went to the Elemental Laboratory as usual, but there was a certain liveliness in the streets that was exactly as it had been the day that I had originally arrived in Meltokio. That had been the first day of the city's annual festival, so what was the excuse for all of the excitement now? I decided to ask someone at the lab what was going on, as opposed to asking a stranger. I still didn't hold the confidence to speak to someone that I was not familiar with.

"Flora, why is there such a buzz in the city?" were the first words out of my mouth when I stepped into the research building that morning.

The receptionist looked up at me curiously, giving a light 'hmm?' before she searched the corridors of her mind for an explanation, or perhaps a mental calendar. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, "Gee, is it already the end of the festival? It must be if there's a lot of hustle and bustle." Flora searched through the whirlwind of papers on her desk until she unearthed a day-calendar. She ripped off the papers that represented the past few days that she had neglected and checked to see what day it currently was. "My, it _is_ the end of the festival. People from around here—and visitors, as well—treat it just as importantly as the first day of the festival." Flora gave me a bright smile, "I'm glad that you brought that up," she said, "I would have hated to miss out on the celebrations."

"Uh... No problem," I really wasn't certain what more to say to her, so I avoided any more words and announced that I should go to the basement to carry on with the experimentation process. Flora accepted this alibi, and I was able to start the long day of researching and testing and hearing complaints from Corrine. These early tests were the worst for him because the scientists were rather oblivious when it came to the summon spirit's capabilities and limits.

By the time that we were finally released from the academy that day, Corrine was in a terrible mood. Before his soul returned to its place in my summoning card, he ordered me not to bring him out unless it was absolutely necessary. I wanted to be able to cheer him up, but unless I had an absolute way to do so, I didn't want to summon him because it could very well upset him more. So I just carried on as I would any other day; returned to the hotel, bathed, changed my clothes, and then headed over to Zelos' mansion.

As I was approaching his home, Blondie was walking in the direction that I just came from; there were rivers of black water streaming down her cheeks. She came to a halt when she was just a few feet in front of me and brought a kerchief up to her eyes, attempting to swipe away her running mascara. In reality, she just smeared the makeup, which made it very difficult for me to resist laughing to her face. "Oh, don't bother going to see Zelos'!" she sobbed as she ran her fingers through her hair with her free hand, "He refuses to spend the final night of festivities with anyone; even his butler! He said he wanted to be alone."

My action was probably just as conceited as her heart in that moment, but I strode past her and straight up to Zelos' front door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her glaring at me with her smeared-mascara stare. It was then and there that I realized that I had become the centre of attention of Zelos' groupies. They were all watching me; and although normally I would give anything to _not_ be in people's sights, the concept of those girls being envious of me made me feel all-important. I had no intention of gloating or acting smug, however I was also not about to hide from them. I wasn't about to sneak up to Zelos' mansion; I wasn't about to hide behind some bushes if the groupies just so happened to walk by when I was with Zelos. No. I was just going to live for myself for once.

"Hey Zelos," I greeted him as I walked into the kitchen. He was sitting backwards on a chair while dully observing Sebastian as he prepared the third meal of the day.

Zelos' head perked up when he heard my voice. "Sheena!" he beamed and bounded up from his seat, "You've come to entertain me!"

"Jee, was your day that boring?" I inquired, approaching the Chosen of Tethe'alla. He merely heaved a sigh in response; I still can't tell whether that sigh was to reinforce how bored he was, or that it was out of exhaustion from whatever had occurred that day. After all, Blondie _had_ just come from his house... I didn't consider the possibilities in that moment. I instead chose to talk about the festival. "The receptionist at the lab mentioned to me that the final day of the festival is really exciting. I, uh... Well, the first night was pretty amazing to me, so I was thinking that maybe tonight..."

My words faded into silence as I watched Zelos' eyes glance about the room. It was blatantly obvious that he was not interested in attending the festivities that night, but he was avoiding saying 'no' at all costs. Finally, he spared me one of his glances, "It's not as big a deal as people make it out to be," he persisted, "We would probably have a more enjoyable time just hanging around here like we do every night." Judging by what Zelos said next, I guess I didn't do a very good job at masking my disappointment. "What? Don't you have fun with me?" he practically whimpered.

It was my turn to sigh. "You know I do," I gave in, nudging him in the arm, "But sometimes it's nice to experience something out of a routine."

Zelos softly murmured a 'hmm' in response, which ultimately ended the conversation. I was basically forced to settle with the fact that we would not be exiting the house that night. When exhaustion began to sweep over us both, Zelos offered me use of his guest room again that night. I had no reason not to accept, and so we both went up the stairs and into our separate rooms.

As I lay in bed, I could not keep my thoughts silent. I wasn't even remotely as peaceful as I had been the night before. I began to wonder: what was I doing there, in Meltokio, in the Chosen's home? I was from Mizuho and was simply a research subject in Meltokio's lab for a limited amount of time. I should have been focussing my time on hastening the process of experimentation so I could get back to _my_ home, to Mizuho. I shouldn't have been getting involved in relationships and growing attached to people. And Zelos... he certainly seemed like a genuine person, but at the same time there was something unsettling about him. Sometimes, he grew cold. Now he greets everything in life with a big, phoney grin—back then, he had moments when he was just as vulnerable as everyone else. Vulnerability tends to make people avoid you, out of uncertainty; however people always crowded around Zelos. Why was that? Did anyone else see the occasional weaknesses that I did?

All of the thoughts in my head were beginning to unconsciously make me grow overwhelmingly weary. Soon the thoughts vanished as sleep overcame me, but I was unpleasantly startled to reality when a boom sounded from outside. Not quite awake enough to be alarmed, I simply slid out from under the bed's covers and wandered over to the window. Pulling the curtains aside, I could see what the source of the sound was: fireworks. They were lighting up the sky above Meltokio's plaza. White balls of light shot straight up and then suddenly exploded into gorgeous spheres of coloured sparks. I had never seen anything like it before.

Drawn in by my curiosity, I lifted up the latches that locked the glass door and silently pushed it open. As I walked out onto the balcony the cracking fireworks masked the sound of my footsteps. My eyes were locked on the dazzling display; even in the moments where the sky was empty I kept on watching and waiting for more. During one of those silences I heard a voice ask, "Have you ever seen fireworks before?"

The sudden question almost made me fall over the balcony's ledge in surprise, but I regained my composure and turned towards the voice. Zelos, too, was outside and watching the light show from the terrace attached to his own room. There was another crash as the fireworks continued and so I returned my gaze to the sky. "No, I haven't," I replied at last, raising my voice so that it could be heard by Zelos. I did not notice as it happened, but Zelos must have climbed up onto balcony's ledge, and then onto the roof while I was mesmerized. When the sky went still, I turned to face Zelos again, however he was gone. "Um... Zelo—"

"Up here!"

"Uh..." I wasn't sure how to react. My actions seemed in slow motion as I tilted my head upward and gave Zelos the most perplexed stare that I could muster. "_What_ are you doing up there?"

He grinned enthusiastically and held his arms out to me, "Come on up. The view's better." As sceptical as I was, I allowed him to wrap his arms around me and _awkwardly_ lift me up onto roof with him. It was painful, and I wound up with several scrapes on my skin; but in the end, I wasn't willing to let go of Zelos... because I was terrified that I was going to fall off of his _slanted roof_. "We can get the to the roof of the party hall from here," he explained, cautiously leading me towards the building next to his. The buildings weren't too far from each other, and with my abilities in stealth the jump shouldn't have been too difficult. Still, I gulped in fear. "You scaaared?" he taunted me; provoked me.

"_No_!" I retorted on reflex, and then peered over the edge of the roof as a second thought. I held onto Zelos even tighter. "But you go first, 'kay?" I added, my words rushed and barely audible.

Zelos chuckled. "'Kay!" he responded with a joking mockery directed at me, "You'll have to let go and stand on your own, though."

I continued to peer towards the ground, "Eh... right." With the speed and grace of a snail, I released my hold around Zelos and held my arms out at my sides. "Okay," I breathed out loudly, dropping my arms and balancing more casually, "Go on." Again, he sniggered at me; that was as much of a tease as words could have been. Without very much effort—seemingly, anyway—Zelos leapt from his roof to the level roof of the party hall. Almost instantly after his feet touched the roof, he calmly steadied himself. He didn't turn to look at me, or encourage me. He just waited. It sounds strange but I believe that this was another method of his to aggravate me into taking action for myself. With no desire to let him down, I took a couple of quickened paces forward and then hopped onto the next roof over. My feet landed hard, causing my knees to buckle beneath my weight. I stumbled forward and into Zelos, basically pushing him over as I tripped; the result was a domino effect—I fell, Zelos fell.

"Owww..." Zelos emitted a groan as he forced himself into a sitting position, lifting me up to his level in the process. "Try to balance yourself out better next time," he advised me while continuing to hold his whining tone.

I, too, let out a moan of pain. "You're talking as though there will be a next time," I murmured, rubbing my hand against my head in hopes that the throbbing from my collision would fade. There came no response from Zelos, and so I turned my head to see if there was a remark in his expression; there was. It was a smile—an innocent smile that said that he definitely held hopes for a future visit to the party hall roof. "I am absolutely _not_ making that jump again," I stated with the sternness of a school professor.

The Chosen snickered behind the hand that he held in front of his mouth. I stared at him curiously. "I guess I'll just have to throw you, then. You're light enough," he kidded, which I answered to with an equally joking poke to the sternum.

Zelos secured his arms around my torso and rested his head on my shoulder, nestling into my neck. There were many moments like that when he would suddenly feel the urge to be cuddly. I yawned and felt my body slowly tiring along with my mind; it must have been fairly late. Just as I allowed my eyelids to droop, the fireworks show resumed with an overwhelming crack. It would have been expected for me to have jumped, startled at the sudden deafening noise. But no—the one who reacted in fear was Zelos. His hold around me tightened to the point that I could have sworn to Jizou that my ribs cracked. "Ow, ow, ow! Zelos, Zelos, Zelos!" I yelped out the words, swatting at Zelos' arms with my hands to urge him to let go of me. His reaction wasn't immediate, but soon enough he got the message and released his hold completely, giving me a much-needed chance to breathe without disruption. "Jeez," I murmured, fanning myself with outstretched fingers, "I appreciate the fact that you're well-built and all, however those arms can be needlessly painful when misused."

I turned my stare towards the Chosen, eyes narrowed in a threatening, yet not-quite-serious, manner. He gave me a big smile to try and compensate for the pain that I suffered at his... arms, technically. "My bad," was his means of apology.

I rolled my eyes at him and left them facing the sky so that I could watch the lightshow again. The dazzling event suddenly brought a thought to mind: "I bet Corrine would love to see this," I spoke under my breath, really commenting to myself.

"Then bring her out," Zelos said in response.

I spun around to look at Zelos once again. At first I was considering his suggestion, but soon I processed each of his words and analyzed the error. "Him," I corrected, "Corrine's a boy."

After I spoke those words, Zelos put on a look of surprise like none I'd ever seen before. In fact, it was like none that I have seen to this day. And it was over such a trivial thing, too. His eyes were wide, head tilted, mouth gaping but still holding a smile of disbelief. "...A boy?" he questioned at last, "With _those_ tails!" His reaction sent me into laughter, which I tried to hold back by covering my mouth. I didn't accomplish suppressing my snickers very well, for Zelos easily picked up how I was laughing—and more importantly than that, how I was laughing _at him_. "What? Seriously, he's all fluffy! No man has feminine aspects like that."

"And what's your favourite colour?" I chimed in, giggles escaping with my inquiry.

"Pink—Hey, wait! That's not fair!" He had played right into my hand by answering 'pink', and that fact caused my mood to brighten even more. Even Zelos couldn't resist sneering at how he had walked into the conspicuous wall that I had placed in front of him. "Oh, fine fine!" he gave in, "But are you going to summon the little he-spirit or what?"

Too light-headed from laughter to consider the consequences of Corrine's mood, I removed a card that I had tucked underneath the ribbon tied around my waist. Having gotten used to the feelings of bringing Corrine out, I summoned without absorbing the sensations that came along with it. In an instant, the figure of Corrine appeared before us, shining in an aquamarine luminance. The glowing soon stopped and Corrine stood there in all of his fluffy, unmasculine glory. All discrepancies involving Corrine's gender quickly evaporated, however, when a smile brightened the small spirit's face. Whoever believes that animals or animal-like creatures do not or cannot smile is seriously mistaken. He stared up at the sky, the flashing colours of the fireworks reflecting in his eyes and lighting up his face just as much as his grin. He was glad that I had brought him out.

I felt Zelos' arm drape over my shoulders, and so I leaned closer, allowing him to draw me towards him. Right then, my mind was clear of almost all thoughts—both the good and the bad. I did not consider that Corrine would be unhappy again the next day when more experiments were done. I did not consider that one day I would have to return to my true home. I did not consider that the fireworks would stop; I did not consider that the festival was over. I did not even consider how peaceful I was at that second. All that I recognized was that Zelos was next to me, Corrine was smiling, and the sky was radiant. All that I recognized was that right then, that was where I belonged.

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You just know that when something has a happy ending, something's going to screw it up, don't you? XD I _really_ want to keep this story, and to finish it. I'd really appreciate any encouragement or advice that you readers can offer. Thank you so much for reading.


	6. Home

Again, I have to apologize for how long it's taking me to update this fic. But y'know what? Now that it's summer, I should actually have time to work on this fic to my full extent! I will do my best to keep this story going, and I swear that I shall complete it! (Maybe not by the end of summer, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop writing.) For now, anyway, here is chapter six!

Disclaimer: I still have ownage lacking in the Tales of Symphonia department. (Hint hint: It's not mine!)

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter VI: Home_

Things carried on like that for quite a while—Careless and peaceful. It came to the point where there was no longer a hotel room in my name, for Zelos' guest room had become my new lodging. In fact, as time went on I found myself waking up on the couch of Zelos' living room more often. The two of us became accustomed to going there once we were both in the home; we would sit on the couch together and pass our time without much event. One night after an exhausting series of experiments at the Elemental Lab I fell asleep with my head on Zelos' shoulder while the two of us were together in his living room. He didn't want to wake me, so he settled into the situation and drifted off into sleep himself. When we woke up the following morning, there was no sense of awkwardness. I trusted him and he respected me. From then on, we would usually end up spending the night on Zelos' sofa. After all, in a mansion there are many stairs to climb up to get to the second floor, and it hardly seemed worth the effort when we could simply sleep on the comfortable and luxurious couch. I also welcomed Zelos' company; somehow sharing the sofa with him didn't shout out the word 'inappropriate' like other situations would.

Everything about life in Meltokio had become so routine, which was something that I would never have expected to find in the capital of Tethe'alla. It was also something that I would never have expected to be desired. To me, routine always seemed to go hand-in-hand with boredom. This is one of the reasons that although I love Mizuho with all of my heart, I sometimes seek a small outing to do something out of the ordinary. I was never one to want to find myself with an automated mind, only doing things because that was what I did every other day.

But even a solid routine can be broken at some point.

I didn't even acknowledge how the days passed; and I don't think that Zelos did either. I didn't see the fact that Corrine's experiments were progressing so quickly. I didn't process that that meant that I wouldn't be living in that lifestyle forever. That was why it came as so much of a shock when a half-elf scientist made the simple statement, "We won't be needing you here for much longer."

That night at Zelos' mansion I was very reserved—even more so than usual. I was detached enough that Zelos felt compelled to ask me in a serious tone what was wrong. I didn't tell him, and even as he insisted that I say something I remained stubborn and kept my dismay of the situation inside of me. Zelos was not at all satisfied with the way that I was acting, but he didn't force me to say anything that I wouldn't let out willingly. Even years after that moment, he keeps that trait: he is patient in waiting for people to spill their emotions. He waits until they are ready. Maybe... that is because he understands the need to feel entirely comfortable with someone before sharing your deepest concerns.

It took about a week for the thought of leaving to fade from my mind. But as my destiny would have it, it was about a week later when the scientists brought the subject up again. This time, there were no variables in what they told me.

When I first walked into the laboratory, the female scientist was chatting with the receptionist. They hushed the instant that I stepped inside, and the scientist gave me an ecstatic smile, "We have some good news for you, Sheena," she told me. Whether news is good or bad, I thought, depends on the person receiving it. "We want you to spend time with Corrine as you would in your normal, everyday life," she continued to inform. My normal, everyday life had become far different than what it used to be... "You can finally go back to Mizuho!"

Mizuho. They had said its name, and many other words came along with it: customs, tradition, rules, outsiders, culture. All of these words added together to equal _no Zelos; no relationships_. I had done things that would never be tolerated by my people, and a good majority of my people did not even tolerate me as it was. Not only was I adopted into their village—unwanted in the first place—but I was also the cause of the deaths of half of their population ten years prior. I didn't feel that I deserved to be a part of their world; even though their world was my world, my home.

"B-back to Mizuho...?" I stammered, forcing out the words that followed, "Oh... good..."

The scientist must have been daft to have not noticed how clearly distraught I was; how fake my remark of 'good' was. She just gave me a big smile, "An escort from your village will be coming tomorrow morning and then you can head on home with them." I nervously bit my lower lip, staring down at the floor with an empty mind. I guess silence was not the response that the scientist was expecting because she found herself awkwardly answering a question that was never asked, "Umm... Your escort will be coming to the lab to meet you at around ten, so..."

"No, no!" I objected on reflex, "When they come here, tell them that we'll meet at the city's front gates come ten. I don't really have any intentions of spending all of tomorrow morning waiting around the lab." Out of politeness I should have added a 'no offence meant' comment, however it was not a priority at that time. The scientist nodded in understanding. "Thank you," I said, and then took my leave from the building. On the way out, Flora attempted to bid me a goodbye, but I rather self-centredly ignored her. At that moment it was all about me; what was going on in _my_ life.

After I left, it was sheer instinct that brought me to where I went: Zelos' doorstep. It was earlier than when I usually went to his house. When it came down to it, he had become my attachment to Meltokio. It was he who had formed the chain that kept me linked to that city; and that chain grew tighter every time I saw him—but it didn't feel restraining. It was a comforting tie.

When I got to his mansion, Zelos wasn't there. I was very distressed from that fact; although I was always anxious to see him, that must have been the one moment when I sincerely _needed_ him to be there. And he wasn't there. Sebastian seemed rather concerned about my gloomy mannerisms, but I just kept on insisting that nothing was wrong. The butler held back any objections that he had, but I could still sense that he wanted to force me to spill it; still, I chose to keep to myself. I sat down on the couch in the living room and did not budge until Zelos returned home. The sun set, dinner came, I was offered food, I refused, Sebastian left, and I remained sitting and waiting as the hearth's fire faded to ashes. I watched the dying flames; by the end, there were only one small spark lingering on the small bit of wood that remained. It held on for a surprisingly long while, but eventually it fell apart like all the rest.

I not once felt tired, even though I must have seemed vacant enough to make someone question whether or not I was sleeping with my eyes open. I sat there awake until finally the front door opened with its standard creak. Almost immediately afterwards, I heard Zelos heave a sigh of relief—Relief of being home? Of finding himself alone? I had no idea, but he was finally back. I took my gaze away from the fireplace and turned around to face Zelos. He was leaning against the now-closed door, a hand on his forehead, holding back his bangs, bothered. I never asked him what had happened to _him_ that day.

"Zelos," I called softly, dropping my chin onto the back of the sofa.

He turned his head towards me, clearly surprised to have heard a voice greet him. He must have expected everyone—and by 'everyone' I mean Sebastian and I—to be sleeping. "Sheena. You stayed up for me?" With that way that he spoke, Zelos seemed amazed by the prospect of someone staying awake for him. Just for _him_.

"I..." I brought a hand up to the back of the couch and gripped it firmly, averting my eyes from Zelos, "...I wanted to say goodbye."

All that Zelos managed to splutter out was a, "Wha...?" I can only imagine that he had incredulous eyes and a gaping mouth at that instant. I continued to avoid looking at him as he approached me, his footsteps both cautious and frantic at the same time. "Say goodbye _why_?" he asked bluntly. He must have been right next to me, judging by the volume of his voice.

I leaned my back into the sofa, sinking into its fabric as I closed my eyes. Zelos moved around to the front of the sofa and sat down next to me, probably staring at me intently while awaiting a response. It took me some time to give my answer despite its simplicity. "The experimentation process is easing up... The scientists want me to go back home," my voice wavered as I added three more words to my explanation, "My Mizuho home." I opened my eyes and lifted my index finger to my mouth and nervously began chewing the nail. Almost immediately, I recognized the development of a bad habit and returned my hand to my lap. "That's why I have to say goodbye."

Zelos rested his forearms on his knees, tilting his torso forward with his head looking down. "I guess that during the course of your visit I kinda forgot that you don't actually live here."

"...Me too," I admitted sullenly, my lips curving into an almost hopeless smile.

I can't speak for Zelos, but I at least felt mute at that time. I didn't feel as though I had the power or right to say anything else; nothing would change. Words seemed pointless. I was past the point of seeking comfort through words, and if I myself had spoken anything more my eyes would have flooded with tears. As I sat there with a void mind I felt one of Zelos' arms encircle my abdomen. At first he just stayed like that, but it didn't take long before he threw both arms around me, tightly holding onto me in a way that was almost constricting. It didn't matter that I was practically being crushed in his grasp, because he was holding me without letting go. And that felt reassuring; the chain wasn't broken, we were still attached. I lowered my head, nestling into his chest. He loosened his hold. "You'll be back," Zelos remarked confidently, "The scientists aren't done with you and Corrine yet."

"That's true," I agreed, "I have to come back."

"Then there's no need to say goodbye, is there?" he asked me, and through his voice I could picture the smile that must have been on his face. He just sounded like he was smiling.

I closed my eyes, suddenly aware of how late it was and how I had been sitting awake for so long. "No," I answered drearily, quickly finding myself overcome by tiredness. The idea of returning to Mizuho was no longer a weight on my shoulders, and I believe that Zelos was comforted by his own reasoning as well. He let go of me and lied down on the couch, almost instantly falling into sleep. I rested down next to him as I had grown accustomed to doing. _"Goodnight,"_ I thought silently, not daring to speak, _"I'll see you in the morning."_

And when the morning came, we were still together. I would be leaving that day, but it felt acceptable to leave. It felt as though things would work out. I would go to Mizuho, live the life of my past, and then eventually return to Meltokio as if nothing had changed. But time moved on whether you are present or not; people grow, change, mature—or the very opposite. No one can tell you how things will turn out; only time has that power.

The sun's beams pried through my eyelids and caused me to awaken. I moved Zelos' hands off of my torso and got up off of the couch. When I looked out of the window, shock caused me to freeze. It was so bright outside, and the height of the sun... it must have already been late in the morning! Past ten, for certain! "Zelos, I have to go!" I announced hurriedly, shaking the Chosen by his shoulder. He let out a small groan before he opened his eyes and stared at me questioningly. "Whoever is coming from Mizuho is probably already waiting for me. I really have to go," I repeated.

Zelos stretched his arms out above his head and yawned, "Okay," he said as he exhaled. "Want me to walk with you to the city's entrance?"

"_No_!" I replied quickly, speaking as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. I immediately regretted the way that I responded, however; Zelos looked really hurt by my response. "Sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean it that way. It's just that Mizuho is a really strict place... If I was seen with you by one of the villagers, I could very well be exiled..."

"...And _that_ would be bad," Zelos completed my statement, and I nodded to approve the ending. "All right, I'll lay low for the rest of the day, just in case you end up staying longer than expected."

I smiled graciously at him, "Thank you, Zelos."

He returned my smile with one of his own, "No problem. It's in both of our best interests." We both walked out of the front door, but Zelos did not go beyond the first step leading to the road. I turned back to face him and instantly found myself longing for a more dramatic farewell. My urge was stronger than my common sense at that moment, and so I hurried back to Zelos' side and embraced him. He had about as little hesitation as me, swiftly wrapping his arms around my body. We were leaning in towards each other—about to kiss—when I heard an all-too familiar voice call in disbelief:

"Sheena!"

Instinctively, I shoved Zelos away from me and tried to act as though nothing had happened, or was _about_ to happen; however I also guiltily refused to turn and see the one who had called me. It was Kuchinawa. No difference would be made whether or not I _acted_ like nothing would have happened because he had already seen too much. An icy chill shot through my back; never have I felt a glare so cold. I did not even have to be facing Kuchinawa to know how he was looking at me... Still I knew that I would have to face him eventually.

"Sheena, look at me," my childhood friend's serious voice ordered. He did not request, he held no empathy... he _demanded_ that I look at him. With disinclination, I let my eyes shift to view Zelos. My almighty hero simply gave me a sympathetic look and retreated into his welcoming home. A silent whimper escaped my throat; just like that, I felt abandoned. "Sheena!" I jolted and turned around at this single-word command. Kuchinawa said nothing after that; getting my attention was his sole goal at that point. He began walking out of the noble quarters, and I was left to follow at his heels like a shamefaced dog that had just been caught misbehaving.

I had no idea what Kuchinawa planned to do with me. I didn't know whether or not he would simply dump me off at the vice-chief's home, or if he would grant me an opportunity to speak. Hell, I wasn't even sure that I would be able to speak if given the chance. What could I say, anyway? No reason for my actions would be considered acceptable; there was no excuse. I had to leave my fate in the hands of Kuchinawa, a man who had proved time and time again to be a true friend to me... but also a man that always held an air of malice towards Mizuho itself.

There was only one certain thing in my mind at that point: I did not, by any means, want to be exiled from Mizuho. I had lived there as far back as I could remember, I grew up and trained there, and I lived there. And as much as I had fantasized about things being different as I spent my days in Meltokio with Zelos, I feared change. Even to an outsider like me, Mizuho would always be home. I wasn't ready to leave.

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So things are looking a little less lovey-dovey now, aren't they? And we all know that Kuchinawa isn't a big Sheena fan, nor is he a big Mizuho fan in general. How, oh how, will the ninja-boy deal with the situation? Next chapter, it's all about Sheena being back in Mizuho.


	7. Hold No Secrets

It took much longer to update this fic than I had anticipated... Sorry! I hope that this chapter proves to be worth the wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or its characters; I just screw around with them for my fanfic delight.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter VII:_ _Hold No Secrets_

Colette stared sadly at Sheena who seemed to be mirroring the same forlorn expression. "But you obviously weren't forced to leave," the innocent angel said softly, her voice daring to hold a tinge of hope. Based on what Sheena had just said, it was surely a good thing that she remained in Mizuho; the village was one of her true loves in life.

"That's true," Sheena agreed, but her eyes were shifting from corner to corner unsurely. "I don't understand why, though," she added to explain the incredulousness in her eyes, "Now that I know how much Kuchinawa hates me, I can't grasp why he didn't turn me in to be punished. His ultimate desire was to have me executed, but surely to be exiled would have accounted for something...?" Colette remained silent to the summoner's musings. This was surely a time in which Sheena had to let her thoughts out to elaborate and come to conclusions for herself; and Colette was certain that her friend could figure it out. After all, the answer was rather simple in the understanding eyes of Sylvarant's Chosen. "I guess..." Sheena continued to think aloud, "that sometimes no matter how hard you try to force yourself to hate someone for what they did to you, you can't help but like them for who they truly are. When you spend time getting to discover someone's deep and hidden sides, you can't just forget about those sides if they do something wrong."

"Hmm," the corner of Colette's lips curved up slightly, but she tried to keep the smile reserved. She looked across the camp that they had set up, her eyes momentarily setting upon the redheaded Chosen still sitting and watching the fading fire at the camp's centre. He didn't seem at all interested in going to sleep; something much more important was absorbing his thoughts, and he would continue staying awake until those thoughts were settled. Quickly, Colette glanced back to Sheena while still holding that hidden smile, "That explanation definitely makes sense to me."

Sheena nodded, satisfied with the justification that she had come up with, "Whether that reasoning is actually true or not, Kuchinawa did give me a chance to remain in the village despite my wrongdoings..."

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The trek to Mizuho felt even longer than normal because Kuchinawa and I were enveloped in silence the entire journey. I didn't dare speak to him, and he had no desire to speak to me. My mind was wandering so fast that I wasn't processing a single thought. My heart pounded, I felt dizzy, I wanted to disappear. "What's going to happen to me...?" I uttered absent-mindedly as we hiked through Gaorrachia Forest. Kuchinawa abruptly halted and turned to me, his eyes narrowed into a glare like none other. I literally gasped when my eyes caught with his, cold and full of hatred.

"You have shamed our village. You have betrayed our customs and our people. What do you _think_ will happen to you?" His voice and words felt just as hateful and unforgiving as his eyes. I couldn't speak. "But I don't want to see you leave the village like _this_," he professed. This confession silenced me even more; hope and joy overwhelmed me, even though I had learnt through life to never let hopes senselessly grow. "We should have known better than to let you go into a town of sins alone. You're still young." Had I been speaking to someone from outside of Mizuho, I would certainly have retorted with a remark that our ages were the same; but Kuchinawa was from within Mizuho, and I would never even consider addressing my kin with a joking tone at a serious time.

"So what are you telling me, Kuchinawa?" I asked him with intrigue.

He glanced down at the forest floor for a moment, and then back up at me. He heaved a very reluctant sigh, "I won't say a word to the vice chief," Kuchinawa promised; a man of his word, as far as I was concerned. "_But_," he disrupted my instantaneous glee with that single word, "I want Orochi to know. These actions of yours will not go unpunished. My brother and I will find a suitable consequence, beginning with you yourself admitting to Orochi what you did."

I felt a fleeting pang of reluctance. Kuchinawa may have been willing to keep me in the village despite my mistakes, but Orochi was far more conservative. But as I said, the reluctance was fleeting. If I didn't tell Orochi, then there would be absolutely _no_ chance of me escaping the punishment that I deserved. "All right," I agreed, nodding, "As soon as we return, I will address Orochi." Kuchinawa returned my nod before turning towards the pathway leading to Mizuho and walking in that direction with me following close behind. I wished in that moment that he didn't wear that mask over the lower half of his face all of the time. He had trained his eyes to be utterly vacant of emotion, so to have seen a frown or a smile on his lips would have eased me a little. Even if it were a frown, at least I would have known how he felt right then. I just couldn't read his level of disappointment in me.

Silence ensued once again until we set foot into Mizuho where the bustling of people was a welcome sound. I noticed several villagers turn to look at me, but none of them even granted a 'hello', or 'welcome back'. I must have forgotten how much some people loathed me in my own home, because the silent treatment that I was receiving came as quite a surprise.

Kuchinawa escorted me to the small house that he and Orochi shared just across the miniature moat that surrounded the chief's home. We both stepped inside the building and found Orochi eating a meal at the low table in the centre of the main room. He looked up as he heard the front door slide open. "Sheena, you're back!" he exclaimed excitedly. I let a smile appear on my face for an instant before Kuchinawa raised his hand while shaking his head to silence Orochi. The older of the brothers sat blankly for a while before asking gravely, "What has happened?"

I dithered. It took a rather rough push forward from Kuchinawa for me to approach Orochi, prepared to confess my wrongdoings. "I made a terrible error in judgment while I was in Meltokio, Orochi," I professed, giving very little detail at first. All that it took for me to continue were prying stares from both brothers. "On my first day in the city, I met a man. He was very kind to me, and..." my voice trailed momentarily as I caught Orochi eyeing me with incredulity, "I guess there's no denying that a relationship beyond friendship developed between us."

"What did you do!" Orochi shouted out suddenly, impatient with how vague I must have sounded.

"Nothing!" I blurted out, trying desperately to defend myself, "Nothing... bad..."

Orochi stood up from his seat on the floor. He stared at me at eye-level, his brows furrowed and mouth turned downwards into a frown. "You broke our customs, Sheena," he scolded, "You, of all people, should know better than that." I'm still not certain what he meant by the 'of all people' addition to his statement. Was it because of my grandfather being the village's chief? Because I couldn't afford any more contempt directed towards me? Because I tried so hard to fit in where I never fully belonged...?

"I—I know," I stuttered, my throat feeling thick, "I'm sorry."

The blue-clad ninja opened his mouth to retort to my apology, however his younger brother cut him off before he could say a word. "I've already given Sheena my word that I would not inform the vice chief of this situation," he told Orochi, "But nonetheless, the two of us will need to find some way to ensure that Sheena does not repeat this betrayal to our culture." Oddly enough, Kuchinawa spat out 'our culture' with even more revulsion than he did the word 'betrayal'.

"So what?" Orochi questioned, "Is she considered on probation?"

Kuchinawa brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully. I watched both men apprehensively as they ultimately discussed _my_ fate. "We could call it that," Kuchinawa decided after a period of contemplation, "She must follow the Mizuho customs with a particular awareness. If another incident like this one occurs, then we will have no choice but to report it to Vice Chief Tiga."

Orochi gave a single nod of his head to express his consent with that decision. "I believe that it would also be fair for Sheena to pull a little extra weight around the village." It was then Kuchinawa's turn to nod. Orochi turned to me, "Are you in agreement with us?"

I followed suit and nodded. "Of course!" I couldn't help but exclaim. I had been expecting something far more horrible, but my two village friends had pulled through and made me so appreciative that Kuchinawa had learned of my misdeeds instead of someone else.

"...So who was this man, anyway?" Orochi inquired curiously. I froze. Orochi and Kuchinawa were two main information gatherers for Mizuho's Information Network, so even if I only said Zelos' first name, Orochi would recognize that I had been seeing the Chosen. I didn't want to imagine the fit that Orochi would throw if he learned that; but he also wasn't about to let me off the hook, and Kuchinawa already knew that 'this man' was Zelos. There was no path but the truthful one. "Well?" Orochi prompted.

I lowered my head and took a deep breath before looking up again. Orochi's gaze—ever locked on mine—sent a jolt to my heart when I caught it. "Z..." I fought the urge to look away from him, "Zelos."

Orochi's eyes widened immediately, and then narrowed into a bit of a glare. "Wilder?" he elaborated with a last name. I could only nod. "Zelos Wilder? Your outside relationship was with the Chosen of our world!" Kuchinawa brought his hand up over his brother's mouth, silencing him so that no one outside could overhear. Orochi visibly calmed before he lightly tapped Kuchinawa's arm, telling him to let him go. The younger ninja complied, releasing Orochi. "The fact that you were involved with the Chosen just makes the situation that much more complex, Sheena," he spoke again with a much lower tone of voice. I wondered how a simple title could completely complicate an already problematic condition; however I didn't ask anything, and just allowed Orochi to continue to speak. "Do you know of the previous Chosen at all?" my friend asked me. I didn't, so I shook my head to indicate so. "The last Chosen was actually Zelos Wilder's father. He, too, partook in a forbidden love."

Kuchinawa looked at his brother as he paused, looking rather frazzled. "It may be easier if we allow her to read the records," he suggested. I knew right away that he was referring to the records that the Mizuho Information Network had gathered on every event, person, city, etcetera in all of Tethe'alla. I guessed that the 'person' archives would the ones to contain the information that Orochi wanted to share with me.

"Yes," Orochi agreed, "That would be best." He glanced out of the room's sole window, "The sun is beginning to set, so we should gather the accounts of our past Chosen before it gets dark. Sheena, you could consider it 'bedtime reading'." Orochi smiled slightly as he made that remark. I was very glad to see him smile; I sincerely believed that Orochi did not see me any differently because of the decisions that I had made.

The three of us made our way over to the storehouse of all of Mizuho's archives. Kuchinawa shuffled through a variety of stacks of papers around the one-room structure. After a fair amount of time spent searching, he brought three folders to where Orochi and I were standing, waiting. "Judas Wilder, Mylene Larsen Wilder, Naila Quinn. The Chosen, his wife, his lover." He placed the documents into my hands. "Now go home and study."

I looked at the folders in my hands for a moment, then back up at the two men. "Goodnight, Kuchinawa. Orochi." They both bade me 'goodbye', and then I left the building and quickly made my way to my home.

It was only once I stepped inside that I realized it: I was home. I walked into my main room and looked around with admiration. As I stood there, surrounded by my own walls of my own house in my own village, I couldn't think of why it was that I had been so reluctant to come back. I wandered around the main room for a while, and eventually peeked into my bedroom. I saw my futon lying in the centre of the floor with my pillow and a blanket on top of it. It had been nice being able to sleep in a hotel bed, guest bed, and comfy couch while in Meltokio, but somehow there is never anything else like your own bed. Even if it is rather thin and uncomfortable when you're in the mood to just curl up with a thick layer of covers. When I looked into my room at that point, however, my bed looked so very welcoming. I moved to go and lie down right then, but I happened to remember the folders that I had left sprawled across my table in the other room. With an unenthusiastic sigh, I returned to the main room and gathered up the three collections of papers and hauled them into my bedroom.

I sat down atop my futon, blankets and all, and began to leaf through the documents. I had never actually had the liberty of reading through the facts that Mizuho's Information Network had gathered before, so I was absolutely stunned by how much information the folders contained. I felt like I was looking through biographies on Zelos' father and his love interests. I skipped through most details of all three people until two 'biographies' intertwined.

I learned that Judas, Zelos' father, had met Naila, Seles' mother, long before Judas even knew of Zelos' mother Mylene's existence. Apparently Naila was a half-elf. She and Judas were in a relationship when Mylene came into the picture as an arranged wife for Judas. The two were forced to marry, but Judas never let go of Naila. Even after Zelos was born, Judas and Naila continued to have their widely acknowledged relationship, only then it had become undisputed adultery. No one did anything of the situation, though, even years after when Naila gave birth to Judas' daughter—Zelos' half-sister—Seles. Apparently Mylene was the one who had to raise Seles, despite the fact that she was the product of her husband's infidelity. Even though I was only reading these details, I felt so horrible for Mylene. She was forced to look at her husband's unfaithfulness every day. But on the other hand, I couldn't blame Judas for continuing to love the woman that he always had loved. What a torn triangle it was.

The next shocking detail that I came across was one that really went beyond the word 'shocking', actually. It was just... unbelievable. Naila murdered Mylene, and she was then put to death as a punishment. When I read that, my heart began pounding in the back of my head with awareness: Naila. Mylene. It didn't matter... Were all relationships with a Chosen doomed to end badly? Even if it was not to end in death, could it end in a 'happily ever after'? I slipped all of the documents back into their proper folders and slid the folders across the room, away from me. It wasn't necessary to read any more that night; I had gathered the point that Orochi and Kuchinawa desired to get across.

As I brought my bed covers over my body and nestled into my pillow, I thought over the details that I had just learned. There were some facts missing, as I considered it all. Why were Mylene and Judas forced to marry? Judas clearly didn't want the marriage, but did Mylene? And what possessed Naila to suddenly slay Mylene, after so much time of not caring about the other woman's existence? Mizuho's Information Network may have been flawless in basic details, but it could not delve into people's emotions, which are very vital things in any situation; and above all, in love.

With all of those thoughts embedded in my mind, I fell asleep.

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Wow, once I got past a certain point in this chapter, it just started writing itself. I mean, to have Sheena learn about Zelos' parents wasn't even my original intention! …At all! I like the way that it came together, though. I will try and begin the next chapter of this fic once I have updated my Senel x Chloe story in the Tales of Legendia section. Unfortunately I am starting school next week (Already! Gah!) so it's probably gonna take me some time to get used to my new school environment. But I'll try and update as soon as I can! Thanks, as always, for your lovely reviews!


	8. Familiar Name, Mysterious Face

I hope that no one thought that I had forgotten about this fic! I still have every intention of completing this story, and remaining a player in the Sheelos fandom. And I hope that you're all still with me!!

Disclaimer: It may be difficult to believe, but even since the last update, I _still_ don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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/Just Tell Me/

_Chapter VIII: Familiar Name, Mysterious Face_

When I awoke the following morning, my mind was completely vacant. I had automatically risen with the sun as I always had while living in Mizuho. It was almost amazing how I could adjust my habits as a simple result to a change in surroundings. I decided to lie in bed until the quickly-rising sun shining through my window caught my eyes and prevented me from properly relaxing any longer. I regrettably rose to my feet and made my way to the main room of my home. As I travelled there, I nearly tripped as my foot rammed into an object on the floor. Thankfully since the object was not very heavy, I merely ended up kicking it forward, through the doorway in front of me. I followed it into the room and then looked down in dismay as my morning calm evanesced. The information folders lay in front of me; the ones detailing the lives of Zelos' family. My stomach twisted.

I crouched down and went to lift the pile of folders with one hand; I found them to be too heavy. I did not recall them feeling so heavy the night before. With reluctance, I used both of my hands to heave the folders into my arms. I decided to immediately return the folders to their storehouse, despite the fact that I should have eaten breakfast first since it was unhealthy to skip it. That morning, I did not feel as though I would be able to force myself to down food without my stomach contorting even more as a result, so I simply ignored whatever negative consequences my lack of breakfast would have.

In order to enter the storehouse, I needed the key that only Kuchinawa, Orochi, and the vice-chief had access to; therefore a trip to see Kuchinawa and Orochi was necessary. When I arrived at their home, only the younger of the two brothers was there. "Morning, Kuchinawa," I greeted him, intentionally leaving 'good' out of the phrase. He stared emotionlessly at the folders that I hugged tightly against my chest. "I read them," I told him, understanding what he had planned on saying before he even said it, "Now I know why you were so concerned. Tha..." I subconsciously found myself biting my lower lip to stop the phrase before it came out. Deep down, I felt that I should have thanked him; but even deeper down, I didn't want to. Those feelings that were concealed even to me managed to hold the words back. Kuchinawa ignored it.

"Then I'd imagine that you want these files returned?" he asked me, to which I nodded in response to as I suddenly held the folders out as far away from my body as I could. He casually grasped them and pulled them away from me. "The vice-chief asked Orochi and I to set aside some time today to help in harvesting some of the crops, since the seasons seem to be changing already," he said that statement so spontaneously that I knew he had some ulterior motive for bringing it up, "But we have a lot of work to do today already. You can consider the harvesting task now your concern."

He spoke rather arrogantly, but I didn't even think of blaming him for his tone of voice. Nonetheless, the extra burden of work would prove to be rather overwhelming at times. Breathing out a sigh of exasperation, but sounding more relieved than annoyed, I said, "Of course," and bowed respectfully before walking away from his home.

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"Things carried on like that for quite some time. Either Kuchinawa or Orochi—most commonly Kuchinawa—ordered me to do something for them, and I obeyed, and no one said a word to the Vice-Chief."

Colette appeared reflective as she took in Sheena's words. "And it never bothered you...?" she asked at last.

Sheena had to hold back a snort of laughter, "Of _course_ it did!" she exclaimed, "How could it not?" Colette merely shrugged, her face flushed from embarrassment at her own question. "Sorry," Sheena quickly apologized upon notices the angel's actions, "I didn't mean to insult you at all, Colette. But... things were difficult. There were times when I wanted to vent all of my frustration out on Kuchinawa and Orochi; however not in a thousand lifetimes in Mizuho would I do something so daring." Sheena shifted her sitting position slightly and stretched out her left leg that had grown numb from its previous arrangement, "For months, I found myself being—to a certain degree—a servant to my old friends. If they found themselves with even a _little_ too much work, they would dump it onto me. Kuchinawa especially took advantage of my unfortunate situation," Sheena looked down towards the ground and began poking at the dirt, carving abstract art into it, "Now that I know how he feels about me, it was undoubtedly out of spite, and had nothing to do with a punishment for what had happened in Meltokio."

Sylvarant's Chosen went back to her role as listener and nodded to whatever Sheena had to say, intently absorbing every word. The summoner carried on.

"After several months of simply pulling my weight within the village, Orochi began to send me outside for certain tasks. I must have regained his trust, if I had ever even lost it, because he sent me on quite a few of these errands alone..."

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The first time that Orochi had sent me out alone, I found myself in a state of shock. I wondered at what exact point he had decided that I was responsible enough not to do anything foolish while outside; what it was that I had done that encouraged him to let me off of the leash that Kuchinawa had tied me to, and to trust that I would return on my own. Before that moment, I had practically grown to disregard _why_ exactly Orochi and Kuchinawa were always commanding me to do certain tasks. After that moment, however, I remembered, and was infinitely relieved that all of that work had had a positive outcome: the return of Orochi's faith in me.

The first venture outside had no negative consequences, other than extreme fatigue from all of the travelling involved to go anywhere outside of Mizuho because we are so isolated. I returned home unharmed, and had not for a second been deterred from my mission; so I was sent outside more frequently and for longer periods of time. At times I would merely be gone for a day, and at other moments I would not be heard from for several weeks. I was never sent to Meltokio, however, and with good reason; but that does not mean that I was never reminded of my time spent in Tethe'alla's capital city.

On one occasion, I had been sent to Sybak to retrieve some supplies needed for a research project that Mizuho was doing in conjunction with the Imperial Academy. The time in the city itself hardly took any time at all, but because of the distance between Mizuho and Sybak I only ended up returning home late into the night the day after I had originally left.

Nightfall enshrouded the area, and a pale moonlight peered out through the grey clouds that were scattered across the sky. The plain was practically empty as I made my way towards Mizuho. No one was around – no people, no monsters, no animals. At that moment I enjoyed that tranquility, as opposed to the bustling of my own village, or the constant crowds of Tethe'alla's imperial city when I had been there. I could see the image of Mizuho growing larger and clearer ahead of me as I approached it, although the flickering lights in windows of distant homes still looked like candles whose flames were steadily growing. I huffed out a frustrated sigh as I stared at the village so far away. "Ugh, my feet are killing me..." I had complained aloud with a groan, ignoring the fact that no one was present to care. After a quick glimpse to the side of the pathway, I kicked off my boots and dropped down onto the grass, allowing myself to smile as I stared into the sky. I gripped my throbbing left foot in my hands in some futile attempt to suppress the pain. It wasn't long before I simply gave up and lay down tiredly once more, letting the blades of grass graze any skin that was left bare on my body. _"I'll get back to the village..."_ I thought to myself, _"...eventually."_ Feeling my eyelids grow heavy, I closed them and let the silence sink in. Even though I knew that there were always reasons to be disquieted, I couldn't help but let myself indulge in the peace that that plain brought at night.

I heard a rustle and instinctively shot upright, turning my head in all directions to find the noise's source. My heart felt as though it had stopped altogether as I feared that perhaps it was one of the monsters that made their presence known from time to time. Or maybe it was Kuchinawa who had come out to find me, to warn me that it was far too late and that I would have to do yet another chore to make up for it. Which was worse at that point: a monster or Kuchinawa? Any anxieties faded abruptly, though, when I saw a pre-adolescent girl step out into the moonlit pathway. "Y... you," she wheezed, "Didn't get back to your village yet, eh? You're going to regret that." Despite the apparent toughness in the girl's voice, she looked rather pitiable. Faded red hair fell over her pale face, veiling cold, steel blue eyes. Beyond the overdone noble-fashioned clothes that she was wearing, I could tell that her body frame only added to her frail appearance... Still, she was persevering; I would grant her that. "You're going to regret taking advantage of my brother, you witch!"

Her final comment made me jolt in surprise, "Wh... what? I don't know what you're talking about..." What brother? And... 'taking advantage of'? The girl must have been delirious. That wasn't like me at all.

"Don't lie!" the girl challenged back, taking a few steps towards me, "He's even admitted that you've seduced him! You can't deny it!"

"Deny _what_?" I asked, completely stunned – so much for a fragile little girl; she was persistent, feisty, and seemingly stubborn beyond belief. "I don't understand! Who are you? Who is your brother? I... I've never 'seduced' _anyone_!" By the end of my phrase my face must have been illuminated red; the idea of my seducing someone was beyond my understanding. The young redhead before me sulked, her eyes narrowing into a glare. She was clearly not about to say anything that she did not want to, and this was making me lose my patience. "Listen, I don't have time to deal with your fairytales, kid; you're not even supposed to be in this area."

The girl clenched her hands into fists, continuing to glower at me, "My name is _Seles_!" she shouted, "And what I'm saying is anything but a fairytale! You... Don't hurt my big brother!" I planted my hands firmly on my hips, simply staring at this Seles with the same determination that she had shown prior. "I swear, if..." Seles paused for a moment, seeming to hate the words that she was speaking as she spat them out, "...if you do anything to take advantage of him, or if you _ever_ leave him in misery, I'll do the same to you and it won't be in emotional pain, either! You..." she continued to stutter out warnings and accusations, "...you seducing witch!" With this final insult, she turned around and dashed off while huffing, puffing, and coughing... but she didn't slow down for a second. I could only stand there and watch with an utterly blank mind, and before I knew it, that unyielding girl had run out of my sight.

As I stood there, I simply couldn't bring myself to budge. What had just come to past made absolutely no sense, and yet I couldn't help but feel that there had been a degree of truth to what Seles had shouted at me. _'Seles...'_ I recall musing, "Why do I know who that is...?"

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This chapter isn't hella long or anything, but I didn't think that I should make it any longer because 1) that would mean that it would've taken longer to post, and 2) I need to consider where to go next. I have my destination set; I just need to decide which road to take to get there. Oh, so difficult... I'm going to do my best to update as soon as I can, but don't expect anything too soon. I'm in college now, and although the workload is seemingly smaller than in high school (What what??) I still have little time for things like writing, unfortunately. You'd all better hope I get struck with some inspirational lightning! (For this, _and_ the art history paper that I should've been writing as I wrote this chapter...)


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